The Ties That Bind
by MLEther
Summary: Pre 3bx21/22 SQ. With a now powerless Zelena behind bars in the Sheriff's station, she and Emma begin to bond over unlikely similarities. Regina notices the budding friendship and her attempts to end it backfire- plunging Emma into a world of anger and vengeance. Slow burn Swan Queen.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**This story is pre season 3b finale. Everything is canon up to that point except with a few altercations:**

**Rumpel hasn't killed Zelena (she remains in the jail cell without magic)**

**Emma still has her magic**

**Robin acts more as Regina's best friend instead of a love interest (This is an SQ fic after all) **

**This fic is based on Emma's behavior in 3x19 when she was continuously making snide comments to Regina about how much better Henry's life was in NYC and then that scene where she yells at Henry outside of Granny's. After that episode, I developed a theory that Emma would somehow become the villain for season 4, but that didn't happen- so this is me making it happen. Still not sure how long the fic is going to be, we'll see where it takes me.**

Pre season 3b finale

Everything canon except Rumpel hasn't killed Zelena, she's still in jail cell without magic.

Robin acts not as a romantic interest, but rather a best friend.

Emma still has her magic.

Based on Emma's behavior in 3 x 19 when she continuously made snide comments to Regina about Henry's life in NYC being so much better than his real memories, and her blowing up at Henry.

For the last three days, Emma Swan couldn't sleep.

The moment her head hit the pillow, her mind swirled out of control- sifting through memories both false and true from the previous year. Though she understood the need for her to regain her memories and return to Storybrooke, she couldn't help but feel a sense of longing for the blissful ignorance that had enveloped the last year. Snow White, Prince Charming, the Evil Queen, and the Wicked Witch of the West were simply children's stories- Neal was only a shadow in her past- she had never chosen to give Henry up for adoption. And what does she have now? A town full of messed up fairy tale characters, a tombstone with Neal's name on it, and magical powers she can't even begin to try to understand.

Sitting up in bed, she pressed her index fingers to her temples- rotating slowly in order to seep the conflicting memories and emotions from thought. Looking over at the clock she heaved a sigh noticing she had been awake all night. She flung the sheets off her body and got dressed. She crept down the stairs and started making coffee, halfway into making Henry's morning hot chocolate, she remembered he was staying at Regina's house. She tossed the contents into the sink and slammed the mug down on the counter. She missed her son, but she knew he wanted to be with his brunette mother to make up for the missing year. Emma had fallen into a comfortable routine and found that diverting from the former rituals bothered her more deeply than she had anticipated. She had always embraced and even sought after change, but after experiencing a year of blissful domesticity- Emma found readjusting to the Storybrooke lifestyle a little more complicated and emotionally turbulent than she would have liked. Sliding her fresh coffee into her thermostat, she grabbed her keys and left for the Sheriff's station.

"Good morning, dearest." Came a velvety voice from the small jail cell in the Sheriff's station. Emma grunted without so much as a glance at the red headed poised gracefully atop her perfectly made cot. Her eyes followed the Sheriff, studying every little detail of her face and posture. "Not sleeping well are we, Savior?"

"That's none of your business, witch." Emma grumbled as she walked into her office and kicked the door close behind her. Zelena kept her eyes fixed as she watched the Sheriff plop in front of her desk and start fumbling around with a few loose papers. A small smile picked at the powerless witch's lips as she observed the dark circles under Emma's eyes and the way she constantly cracked her limbs and slouched in her seat. An hour later, Emma had finished her coffee but found she still wasn't awake enough to get through the morning. Stretching her hands above her head she gave a loud yawn and stood up to leave for Granny's. As she passed Zelena's cell, the former witch's voice cut through the morning silence.

"A hot cup of Builders' Tea would be divine."

"Seriously?"

"What, dearest?"

"You're in jail. You don't get special requests."

"Well, I assume since the facility here has no proper system for feeding inmates and you feed me food from Granny's anyway, I might as well make a slight adjustment."

Emma slowly blinked and shook her head. She was definitely too tired to deal with this nonsense. Returning from Granny's with a large cup of coffee for herself, the Sheriff chucked a small take out back through the bars towards the redhead. Without a word, she bent down and placed a small to go cup just outside the cell bars- then turned on her heel to her office.

Zelena pushed herself from the cot and reached through the bars to the cup. She opened the lid to find the cup full of hot Earl Grey tea. The steam rose and caressed her nostrils as she breathed it in deeply. "Thank you, dearest." She called to the Sheriff's turned back.

Emma didn't understand why she did it, but if it got the witch to finally shut up, then at this point she really didn't care. Zelena picked through her breakfast of plain porridge and a red apple while eyeing the Sheriff carefully. Prison was dull and she found Emma Swan _very_ intriguing now that she could study her up close. As the two women sat in silence, a loud bang sounded from the Sheriff's office. The filing cabinet had shot into the air and came crashing to the ground, papers flying across the room. Emma shot to her feet cursing as she tried to pick up the mess.

"What happened?" asked the witch from across the room.

"Not like it's any of your business, but I sneezed and the filing cabinet went ape shit." Zelena let out a small chuckle.

"Magic is sporadic when one is sleep deprived and under stress. Even the most simple of gestures or tasks could blow something up if not controlled. Take a deep breath, dearest." Emma glared in the witch's direction and turned her back, not letting Zelena see her take the witch's advice, but the witch didn't miss it. "Very good, dearest. You'll want to do your breathing exercises each time you feel your stomach drop, or another filing cabinet will be subject to the might of the Savior."

"Who the hell do you think you are trying to teach me about magic?" said Emma whirling around. She had been pretty good at simply ignoring Zelena, but her recent battle with sleep deprivation slowly chipped away at the Sheriff's defenses.

"I only wish to help you, Savior."

"That's funny cause a few days ago you wanted me dead."

"Not dead, dearest, no… you'd simply not be _born_ yet."

"Regardless. You hurt me, you hurt my son- I don't want anything to do with you."

"But I can help you."

"What do you mean, _help_ me?"

"I know what's been troubling you, for it too is in my mind."

"What the hell are you even talking about?" Emma knew that she should walk away, but something held her steady. She had to know what Zelena was talking about.

"You and I have more in common than you think, dearest. If you can recall- I too was abandoned by my own mother and father. I was thrust into a home where I wasn't appreciated, or loved. Slowly being raised and trimmed to be the perfect, quaint little housemaid by an alcoholic father." Emma listened closely, though their pasts had a couple differences, Zelena's upbringing wasn't so far off from her own. "I was being raised to become something I never wanted to be, just like you."

Emma stood in silence, considering her words. True she had never wanted to be the Savior, she never really felt like the Savior. After the first curse broke, she was willing to believe that she had her role in this twisted fairy tale- but she never felt like she fit into the town. She only stayed for Henry. Her entire life comprised of not belonging, always being the outsider, and the only time she felt just right was when she was with her son in New York. Before she knew what she was doing, the Sheriff pulled a chair close to the jail cell and sat down.

"I wish Henry and I had never come back from New York." Zelena's eyes twinkled victoriously as she could feel the beginnings of the Saviors closely manicured walls slowly crumble. "This last year has been incredible. So peaceful. I had a good job, a good apartment, my son…" she trailed off as she became lost in thought. "Ever since I've returned to Storybrooke, I've felt just so, so angry. I don't understand why."

"How could you _not_ feel angry?" said Zelena matter-of-factly, "You spent an entire year in a blissful ignorance with your son only to return to a mad, mad town full of overly self-righteous fairy tale characters who look to you to do everything for them instead of piping up their own courage and helping themselves." Emma looked up into Zelena's icy eyes, the witch just said all the words she had been too afraid to say out loud, even to herself. As harsh as they may seem, Emma knew them to be true. "This last year awarded you with the beautiful and rare ability to choose for yourself, to be your own person, to own your identity as just another normal- anonymous individual. And now, you don't only have to answer to the townspeople, you also have to answer to a suddenly all-angelic former Evil Queen."

Emma remained silent, but her eyes remained fixed on the witch. How could she read her so easily? Zelena somehow knows all of her hesitations, her guilt, her pain… she understands. Feeling a little overwhelmed by her transparency, Emma stood and went to her office, a couple hours later David arrived to relieve her- and she couldn't have been more grateful.

Her head hit her pillow, she expected the familiar wave of conflicting memories- but they didn't come. Instead they were replaced with Zelena's words- she found them oddly calming. She and the Wicked Witch of the West _do _have a lot in common. Nobody had seen her the way Zelena has seen her. Nobody has understood her the way Zelena understands her. She wanted to talk to her more and as she spun these thoughts around in her head, she soon found herself drifting off to the most peaceful sleep she'd had since her return to Storybrooke.


	2. Chapter 2: Always What and Never Why

**A/N: I'm still putting my feelers out for this story. I have somewhat of a concept, but I'm trying to figure out the kinds of relationships I'm going to have between our different characters. This chapter is one that will definitely establish a few relationships- and I promise there will be a lot, a **_**lot**_** of action down the road. And keep in mind… slow burn slow burn slow burn SQ. ;) Thank you and please review!**

"Mom."

Regina's eyes shot open as she sat straight up in bed. Her eyes flicked to a figure sitting on the bed next to her. She blinked a couple times and when her eyes finally adjusted, she saw it was her son.

"Henry?" inquired the brunette as she quickly reached her hand to her son's shoulder, "What's wrong, sweetheart?" Her eyes quickly scanned her son's face, searching for a problem to fix. He reached to his shoulder and gently took his mother's hand in his and placed it on his cheek.

"Good morning." He said with a small smile as he held Regina's hand to the side of his face.

"Good morning." Replied the brunette as she softly moved her thumb across her son's cheeks. "Are you alright?" Henry paused for a minute, a smile still gracing his lips.

"Everything's fine," a small laugh crawled up his throat at the concerned look on his mother's face, "It's just… it's just that I've missed this. Missed you." His cheeks reddened and his gaze avoided his mother's. He didn't feel physically capable of saying much more than that, but his mother saved him the pressure of continuing by pulling him close and wrapping him in her arms.

"I've missed you too, sweetheart," she kissed the top of his head, "so much." Mother and son leaned back on the bed and stretched their limbs before huddling closer. Henry rested his head on Regina's shoulder and they lay wrapped together in comfortable silence.

"I remember seeing you in the diner," mumbled Henry, "our first morning back in Storybrooke. I remember seeing you at Granny's . We were going to order food and you had dropped your coffee and…"

"I remember," murmured the brunette. It wasn't a particularly fond memory for her.

"I'm sorry." He said as he clutched tighter at his mother.

"For what, sweetheart?"

"Not remembering you."

"Henry," Regina began as she turned her son's face towards her, "it was _not_ your fault. I erased your memories and gave you new ones. If I hadn't, you and Emma would not have known who each other were or why you were in the middle of nowhere together. It doesn't matter that you didn't remember then, what's important is that you're here now." She held him closer and they returned to silence until a few minutes passed and Henry let out a small snort.

"What?" said Regina smiling and looking down at her son.

"You gave Emma memories of how to cook." The brunette let out a small laugh.

"Well, I couldn't very well have you living off only burgers and pizza now could I?" they laughed together and hugged closer.

"Now that I think about it, you gave Emma a lot of things that remind me of you. It's so weird to think about this last year as something that actually happened. I can remember so much, but it all kind of feels like a dream, you know?" Regina simply hummed in response. She sat for a moment stroking Henry's hair deep in thought.

"Do you regret remembering all of this?" she whispered. It was a question she had been longing to ask her son ever since his memories had been restored. She was both elated and horrified that Henry remembered their life together, for there were times even she wished she could forget. Henry rose from his mother's embrace and looked down at her, his big green eyes looking directly at her.

"I regret not remembering sooner," he replied, "I know we had a hard time when Emma first came here, but that was mostly my own ignorance and stubbornness- other than that I have awesome memories of you. Sure you were tough and a little controlling, but I now see that you did it all to protect me because you love me. When I look back at everything that's happened since then, what stands out the most is you always being there for me, always willing to do anything it took for me. There's no way I'd want to forget my mom." He bent down and kissed her on the cheek and she wrapped her arms around him for one last squeeze. "I love you, mom."

"I love you, sweetheart." Replied the brunette with tears in her eyes. With a small little smile, Henry rose from the bed and stretched.

"It's almost time for me to head out. I'm meeting Robin and the gang in the woods for bow and arrow lessons," he stopped in the doorway and turned back to his mom, "archery lessons from Robin Hood… that's so cool." He smiled and shook his head as he exited the room.

Regina sat back in bed, relishing how she had been woken up. With Henry gone for the morning and the better half of the afternoon, she would have to find a way to occupy her time. It's been seven days since Zelena had been stopped and everyone in the town was using this time as a period of readjustment. Without a known way of returning to the Enchanted Forest, the townspeople would have to figure out the next move. Although many had returned to their normal "cursed" jobs, others simply sat at home biding their time until the next life-threatening crisis. Either way, the town would eventually function again, and it would require some form of leadership- but Regina felt uncomfortable stepping back into the mayoral role. She didn't know if it would be a position she should step up and reclaim or if it would be offered- either way she remained uncertain as to whether or not she actually _wanted_ to remain the town's leader.

Then came the matter of her sister. She remained an unaddressed presence the Sherriff's jail. A figure once cloaked with immense power forced into silent submission, awaiting the fate that will be bestowed upon her by the townspeople. The former mayor hadn't visited her sister since the evening she took her powers. Regina had taken the last few days to reconnect with her son, but now that he would be occupied for most of the day- she reasoned now would be as good a time as ever to visit her sister. _Sister_. The brunette thought with a small, sad smile. Seeing as how they are the only descendents of the Mills family line, it would probably be fit that they get to know one another- not only that, Regina couldn't help a twinge of excitement at the prospect of having a blood related relative in town that didn't seek to, or at least _couldn't_, murder her.

Regina stopped by Granny's and picked up a large coffee for herself and a large cup of tea for Zelena. As she strolled up to the office door at the Sheriff's station she heard what sounded like a deep conversation coming from the room. Upon hearing her sister's voice, Regina stopped dead and hovered just outside the door.

"I knew my father never cared for me," sounded the red head's voice from inside, "he would get ridiculously drunk and smack me around like that was my only purpose in his house."

"I know what you mean," came the Sheriff's voice from the room, "I once stayed with a couple that would get blackout drunk every night and use me as their own personal punching bag. I used to resent it, but now I've embraced it."

"It made you strong."

"I don't know about 'strong,' but it made me grow up pretty fast, that's for sure."

"It made you strong, Emma." Zelena's voice sounded so firm and sincere that Regina poked her head around the door. Her stomach fell to the floor as she saw one of Zelena's arms reaching through the bars, her hand patting Emma's knee as the blonde sat with her face in her palms. She pulled her head back out of sight, her mind buzzing with what she had just seen. They were _confiding_ in each other. They were having an emotional exchange of solidarity. She's known Emma for years and they had never _really_ even gotten around to discussing their pasts or connecting over anything. How is it that the Savior is suddenly so willing to open up to this completely manipulative, homicidal stranger? She heard the sound of a chair scraping across the floor and then Emma's voice dropped to almost a whisper.

"As weird as this sounds, I'm happy I can talk to you, Zelena."

"Nobody can know what we've gone through, dearest. People like us, well, we're different than the rest. Just know that you aren't alone." There was a short silence, Regina held her breath as a foreign emotion slithered from her gut to her throat. She couldn't quite place the feeling… jealousy? Her thoughts were interrupted when the station phone rang and Emma talked to someone on the other line. She hung up and grabbed her keys.

"Sheriff's work is never done. Catch ya later, Zelena."

"Bon Voyage, Savior. I'll just be here." Regina heard Emma give a little snort and the strange feeling of jealousy crept into her mouth and sizzled on her tongue. Hearing Emma's footsteps draw near the door, she snapped to attention and waltzed around the corner into the room as if she had only just arrived.

"Oops, s'cuse me, Regina." Said Emma nearly bumping into the former mayor. Regina nearly nodded and moved aside so Emma could pass. Once the blonde was out the door, Regina turned to the jail cell to see her sister propped on her cot with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

"Well if it isn't my precious _little_ sister." Sneered the witch. Regina rolled her eyes and walked across the room and sat in the chair by the cell. "How _good_ of you to come see me."

"Yes, well, you are _family_ after all." Replied the brunette holding Zelena's tea out to her.

"Poison? _Really_, darling? There are much more exciting ways to go, I would think that someone with your homicidal expertise would find a more _creative_ way to off me than this cliché Shakespearean ending. So tell me, darling… arsenic or chloroform?"

"Chamomile." Replied Regina dryly. Zelena's eyes flared and she smirked as she took the cup and sipped it coyly.

"So, to what do I owe this pleasure, sis?"

"Nothing in particular, I just thought I would visit."

"Oh so we could talk, bond over our pasts, and quickly become _best_ friends?" sneered the witch. "Oh no, sis, _that_ is something that will most definitely _not_ be happening."

"I see you've managed to ensnare our Sheriff," sighed Regina. Zelena's eyes flicked up to lock with the brunette's, "tell me, what's your game?"

"Game?" Zelena let out a small cackle, "It's always some sort of game with you, isn't it? You see someone acting cordially and instantly believe there is an ulterior motive. No, your precious Savior and I are simply keeping each other company as we sit about in this dull office all day."

Regina's eyes searched her sister's icy gaze, she would like to believe Zelena's words, but she knows how difficult it is to break habits long cultivated by rage and vengeance. Zelena wouldn't be so quick to make a friend simply out of boredom, no, she had something else in mind- and Regina had to find out what it is. She shifted closer to the bars and looked directly at her sister, speaking her words slowly.

"We both know that's not what you're doing. If you harm one hair on Emma Swan's head, I swear I will end you. I will reach into my so-called creative homicidal database and destroy you."

Though Regina kept her face and voice in a steady pallor on the verge of threatening, the witch could sense the former mayor's anxieties, a small curve appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"Oh I wouldn't harm our dear Sheriff, no, but I believe you might."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh this is very silly, isn't it?"

"_What_?" hissed Regina losing patience.

"This is adorable," Zelena clapped her hands together, "_you_ haven't even admitted it to yourself yet, have you?"

"Enough of this, explain yourself."

"You love our dearest Savior." Zelena said with a large grin. Regina had expected hundreds of replies, but not _that_. She lost focus and her face completely dropped causing her sister's grin to grow even sharper. "You know it's true, don't deny it- sis." She sat back on the cot and sipped her tea. Regina remained still, her face completely stoic in contradiction to her reeling mind.

She knew Zelena was trying to play mind games and she couldn't and _wouldn't_ let her win. But she couldn't deny the small fluttering in her stomach at the mention of _love_. Her relationship with Emma remained practical, they shared a son. Nothing had ever necessarily taken place between them, too much continued to happen in their little world. There had been battles to fight, people to save, and no time to consider any personal affairs.

As Zelena's words soaked in, Regina allowed herself to truly contemplate- for the briefest moment- her rather complex feelings towards the Sheriff. She had always kept them buried in order to deal with the greater good, but now that the dust was settling after a series of long, life-threatening circumstances- she could no longer deny the small glimmer of light pulsating behind the walls of her blackened heart.

"I think we've had enough sisterly bonding for today." Replied the former mayor coolly. She rose from her chair and strolled to the door.

"Come on, sis, just admit it." Came Zelena's taunting voice.

Regina stopped and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes drifted across the room and reached behind the bars to gaze upon her sister and for the first time she really looked at the woman behind the bars. Her piercing blue eyes being the first noticeable feature moved with deliberate action. Each flick and sweep moved with well thought out purpose- each focus and scan meticulously calculated.

In a southward sweep from her eyes came her sharp skeletal structure, pushing in and pulling out with deep ripples, folding across her cream-colored skin all as calculated as the movement of her eyes. Her sharp chin jutted out in a regal manner that was unsettlingly similar to Cora's, her jaw firmly set with confidence and capped with a pair of sharp, eager ears. Her hair framed her face like freshly fallen autumn leaves on the sidewalk. Where the rest of her features were sharp and deliberate, her red hair ran wild about her as though it fed from the overwhelming amount of thought and planning which radiated from within her skull. Her entire physique seemed controlled and tame, but there lingered still a disquieting aura of foreboding.

"Not today." Replied the brunette as she swept from the room leaving Zelena with a smirk victoriously splashed across her face.

…

Emma burst through the door of the loft that now acted as a home for Emma, her parents, Henry, and her new baby brother.

"Snow?" she called, "_Snow?_" the tiny brunette came quietly scampering down the stairs holding her index finger to her mouth and shushing.

"He's finally asleep," she whispered.

"What's the emergency?" whispered Emma in reply.

"Emergency?"

"You called the station, what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"_Nothing?_"

"I'm bored and… and lonely." Whispered the brunette with a sigh.

"So there's no emergency?"

"Well, not _technically_."

"I'm outta here." The Sheriff turned on her heel to leave, but her mother's hand quickly reached out grabbing her bicep.

"Emma, wait. Please."

"You can't keep calling the Sheriff's station just because you're bored."

"I know. I'm sorry. Will you at least stay for tea?" the blonde tapped the toe of her boot lightly on the ground for a few beats before giving in.

"Okay. Fine. _One_ cup, okay?" the tiny brunette gave a wild smile and scurried over to the kitchen.

Mother and daughter sat together in the kitchen in an awkward silence that seemed to permeate the room. There were so many unanswered questions bubbling between the two that neither knew where to begin.

"How's work?" Snow whispered over her mug.

"Fine, fine. Really quiet." Replied Emma.

"And how is… _she_?" a shadow passed over the small brunette's face as she asked the question.

"Regina?"

"No… the wicked witch."

"Former wicked witch," corrected Emma causing Snow to furrow her brow, "She's fine. Stays in her cell all day."

"We'll have to decide what to do with her."

"What do you mean, _do_ with her? She's powerless, I figured we'd just let her cool her heels at the station and then send her back to her farmhouse." Snow's face completely dropped in disbelief.

"Are you _kidding_ me, Emma?"

"What?" said Emma rather innocently.

"She killed Neal, enslaved Rumpelstiltskin, wiped our memories, turned our friends into flying monkeys, nearly killed Regina _and_ you- not to mention she tried to suck the life out of my son, _your_ little brother."

"Yeah and Regina tortured and killed thousands, killed her father, killed _your_ father, cursed an entire kingdom, killed Graham, tried to kill me, teamed up with her mom against us, and _she's_ still walking around."

"She's redeemed herself, Emma."

"And why can't Zelena have a second chance as well, hmm?" Emma shot back raising her voice slightly. "How can we expect her to redeem herself if we keep her locked up like some animal. You have _no_ idea what she's been through!"

Snow looked up in horror at her daughter who was now standing on her feet, towering over her mother. She opened and closed her mouth trying to usher words to the surface, but they remained buried beneath heaps of shock. Before she could summon a reply, a faint cry sounded from upstairs.

"We'll talk about this later," she said sternly eyeing her daughter before rushing off to comfort her son. Emma watched her leave before turning on her heel and slamming the loft door as she left.

As she drove back to the Sheriff's station, she gripped her steering wheel whitening her mountain range of knuckles. She began talking to herself outloud.

"I'm so _sick_ of her stupid, conditional forgiveness," she scoffed, "everyone treating her like she's the keeper of the second chance handouts. So self-righteous. Everyone in this goddamn town is _so_ self-righteous. Always, always so quick to place the blame and judge purely off the _what_ and never asking the _why_," she felt her gut begin to drop as magic simmered around her knuckles, "They don't give a flying fuck why you do what you do, they only care about what happens. They just want someone to hate so they can avoid pointing fingers at themselves, they don't want to do anything for themselves, they'd rather just heap all the responsibility on someone else. Someone who may not want to do all of this shit, someone who may want to not always have her life and her son's life in constant peril, someone who may just want to have a normal fucking LIFE!" Her car screeched to a halt, three different fire hydrants near her car exploded at once. She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, "Well this is just fucking _great_."

Leaning on the gas pedal, Emma raced towards the Sheriff's station. Back to the one person she believed really understood her. The one person who looked at her as a human being and not the Savior. Back to Zelena.


	3. Chapter 3: Lessons

**A/N: Quick fun little note, I make a couple references to some Brothers Grimm fairy tales: Ferdinand the Faithful and Mother Holle. These two tales are really fun to read and I encourage you to do so. **

**Anyway, still doing a bit of relationship establishment- but there is also some sweet action trotting around the corner. Thank you for reading, and please review!**

Her lips stretched thinly across her face with false understanding and concern, but her eyes gleamed with victory as she watched the Sheriff pace back and forth before her cell. Though she remains without magic, Zelena feels power radiating off Emma, pulsating from her eyes and hands as she flings both around in the air, directing her impassioned monologue about Snow White and the self-righteous fools of Storybrooke. _She is much angrier than I had anticipated_, thought the witch, _this will be much easier than I thought_.

The feeling of the Savior's magic jumped from her body, swirling around the room- creating a thick cloud, wafting and lingering in heavy folds around Zelena. She inhaled deeply, reveling in the feeling of magic; wishing she could tap into it only for a moment- but that ability is lost to her. No, her revenge must be much more personal… and painful. Her deep inhales were interrupted by the source of the power, _light magic_, she sneered. It left a foul taste in her mouth that sizzled across her tongue, but then there was something else beneath that nauseating flavor. The feeling was oddly familiar, like recognizing an old friend across a room. Buried beneath the layers of light magic was indeed a growing friend, a comforting friend, a friend that would soon envelope the Savior's light.

Zelena's breath lingered a moment as she let the sensation of dark magic waft over her. It was more powerful than she had ever felt. Dark magic spawned from the persistent hurt and rejection of True Love's child. _Oh yes, _she thought, _the Savior's dark magic_. She hummed to herself. _It's growing_.

….

Regina sat alone at Granny's. The diner was packed with citizens who were finally easing back to life in Storybrooke. The former mayor always found it remarkable how the citizens could adapt to changes to easily. There were always initial moments of panic and anger, but that always seemed to calm after the first few days and everyone would jump right back in without question to being productive citizens. The only change Regina couldn't grapple onto were the subtle expressions of gratitude she would receive from random townsfolk. Having spent the last few decades with swift glances and hurried footsteps, the lingering gazes of admiration and warm reception shown towards her from the very people she cursed simply astounded her. Countless people, some she knew- many she didn't, would nod their heads and smile, others would shake her hand and thank her for her service to the town, and she occasionally received anonymous notes or free drinks offered out of gratitude.

Just as she was attempting to peel one of her grateful admires' lips from her hand, she saw Snow White enter the diner and with a breath of relief, flagged her to her booth. Snow's head cocked to the side with shock and suspicion, but as she saw the admiring fan assaulting Regina's hand- she gave a short laugh and walked over.

"Well if it isn't Ferdinand the Faithful," beamed Snow as she placed her hand on the man's shoulder. He released Regina's hand and turned around, his face receding to a lighter shade of pale.

"Oh… my… _word,"_ he stuttered as he clapped his hands around Snow's, "it's… _the_ Snow White!" his eyes bulged and a huge smile spread across his face as he dropped to his knees and began kissing Snow's hand. "My dear Queen Snow it is… _such_ an honor!" Regina rolled her eyes and Snow gave her a sly wink as she pulled the man up from his knees.

"Please, there's no need to be so formal, Ferdinand."

"It's Fred here, but… th-thank you, Queen Snow. Such a privilege."

"Thank you so much, Fred, it's wonderful to see you again." She said warmly as she patted his hands.

"Oh, your majesty, I can't believe you remember me."

"Of course I remember you," she said warmly, "there aren't many who ride a talking white horse." Fred laughed nervously at this.

"Yes, well, we all have our own little tales, don't we? Though some not as famous as others." He said giddily as he nodded his head at Snow and then at Regina.

"Well, Fred, again it is an extreme pleasure to see you again. I wish you a wonderful evening." She gripped his hand firmly once again, his face broke out in a deep shade of red.

"Oh thank you, your majesty. Thank you." He bowed deeply, kissed Snow's hand before turning to grab Regina's hand- but stopped when he saw her hands buried under the table. He gave a deep bow to the former mayor, "Queen Regina, thank you once more. You are truly invaluable." She nodded her head and gave a small smile. Snow sat across from Regina and the two women watched Ferdinand the Faithful stride off in a gossamer blanket of ecstasy to his own table where he began to excitedly recall his experience to the elated faces of his minor fairy tale comrades.

"Thank you," murmured Regina as Snow turned her head back around, "I don't know how you are so used to that kind of behavior." Snow simply smiled at her as she watched the former mayor pull a wet wipe from her purse and wipe the remains of Ferdinand the Faithful from her hands.

"Well, since I'm already sitting here… do you mind if I join you, Regina?"

"Not at all." Replied the former queen. She was hesitant at first, but she reasoned that if any other star-struck citizens stumbled their way, she could easily pawn them off on their beloved White Queen. "How's your son?"

"Oh he's fine. Margine is looking after him," Regina's eyes squinted as if trying to remember if Margine was someone she is supposed to know, "Mother Holle, she was called in the Enchanted Forest." Regina's face turned to stone.

"Oh," she deadpanned.

"You know her?"

"Yes, actually. I'm just surprised she's still living for she was quite old when I knew her. When I was a little girl I ran away from home, I wandered into the woods and found a well. As I was leaning down to fetch the pail for water, I slipped and fell and fell and fell for what seemed like an eternity," Snow gasped, "Don't worry, dear. I'm obviously fine," Snow gave a little smirk as Regina continued, "Everything had gone black and I suddenly awoke in a meadow where I was greeted by Mother Holle. She was very kind to me, but my mother eventually discovered what happened to me and threatened to harm her if I didn't return home. Mother Holle told me I always had a home with her, but I was never able to return. After becoming Queen I dropped one of my apple trees down the well and watched it disappear in the hopes that it found her."

"That is a wonderful story, Regina. You should come see her later," said Snow- her voice brightening at the prospect of reuniting Regina with someone who had meant something to her. But Regina merely shook her head and waved for Ruby.

"Hey guys," the werewolf greeted happily, "it's good to see you finally outta the loft there, new mama." She winked at Snow and then turned to Regina, "Speaking of mama's… where's Henry?"

"This afternoon David joined up with Robin, Roland, and Henry in the woods for archery and they all decided to go on a little camping trip!" bubbled Snow. Regina chewed her tongue in slight irritation for Snow answering for her.

"They will be back in a few of days." Said the former mayor with a small smile.

"Oh that's awesome," stated Ruby before a mischevious glance passed across her face, "Hey… first day of wolf's night is tomorrow. Think I should go mess with them?"

"Do you really think it wise to surprise two overly testosteroned males and a couple of giddy boys with bows and arrows, dear?" Regina deadpanned. Ruby's face sunk a bit before seeing Regina's eyes light up and she noticed the former queen was joking.

"Damn, Regina. Your sarcasm is as powerful as ever," she laughed, "but I definitely see your point. Besides, Roland might be a bit too young for that anyway," she paused for a moment in contemplation, "Oh but I would _love_ see Robin's face. I still have to get him back after last week."

"What happened last week?" asked Snow concerned. Regina snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Ruby and Robin have some sort of ridiculous prank war going on. And after last week, I think Robin's ahead." Smirked Regina raising an eyebrow in Ruby's direction. Snow vibrated and pleaded for someone to tell her what happened. "Oh it's not my story to tell, dear." Snickered Regina as Ruby's face flushed pink.

"I hate that you two are friends," laughed the werewolf, "Between his pranks and your sarcasm, I'm never going to live anything down." Regina simply snickered and Snow sat back with a huff realizing she wasn't going to get the story any time soon. "Right then, ladies. What may I get for you?"

"Is Granny still making the duck dish with the raspberry vinaigrette?"

"Yes, oh powerful sarcastic one, she is."

"I'll have that, dear."

"Make that two," chimed in Snow.

"Comin' right up," Ruby said with a smile and sauntered off to the kitchen.

"Are she and Robin, like, you know…" she whispered to Regina wiggling her eyebrows.

"Come, dear, you know I don't gossip."

"Come ooooon, Regina," Snow slammed her fists on the table, "I've been cooped up with a baby for _days_, I've missed out on all the news." Regina smiled and brushed the back of her hand casually across the table.

"Not like it's really any of our business, but…" she paused enjoying the look of desperation in Snow's eyes, "yes. Yes they are." Snow clapped her hands together and squealed.

"I _knew _it," she beamed as she sat back in the booth relishing in her new found knowledge.

"Would it be useless for me to ask for your discretion?" Regina cocked on eyebrow. Snow's giddy face dropped and she suddenly looked guilt-ridden. Regina noticed what she said and instantly felt a twinge of guilt herself for bringing up their complicated history. Though it's on the mend, both women remained touchy about certain things. "I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean it that way." Snow nodded sadly.

"I understand. But yes, I'll keep it to myself… and David of course," Regina rolled her eyes.

"Fine, fine," she waved a hand through the air dismissing the subject. The two women sat in silence searching for a topic of conversation that wouldn't somehow lead back to the past- they both knew that was impossible.

"As much as I miss the Enchanted Forest, I have to say that I am honestly happy to be back here." Breathed Snow glancing around the happy faces that filled the diner. "I feel at home here." Regina internally smiled as she reflected upon Snow's approval of the cursed town she created. As if she knew the former queen's thoughts, Snow said, "I suppose I should be thanking you for the town, seeing as how you built it."

"Well, dear," Regina bowed her head and flicked a few pieces of imaginary lint from her sleeves, "I can honestly say I've never been thanked for a curse before." The petite brunette gave a small laugh. "And I suppose I should thank _you_ for re-cursing us to Storybrooke. As provincial as it is, this town affords certain cleansing opportunities."

"I agree," Snow smiled knowingly, "in Storybrooke we can slowly chip away at our dark Enchanted Forest memories and begin anew." Regina nodded slightly, but avoided Snow's gaze. Ruby saved the moment by arriving with their two heaping plates of food.

"Gotta say this still really weird," she said with a quirky smile pulling her hands to rest on her hips.

"What's weird?" inquired Snow.

"Seeing you two together and not jumping down each other's throats." The two seated brunettes bowed their heads and smiled.

"Well," said Snow looking up at Regina, "I owe this woman my life. She _did_ after all split my heart in two in order to save my husband, _plus_ she saved my child _and _the town from Zelena." Regina lifted a hand to scratch her forehead, trying to hide the small blush gracing her cheeks.

"Oh yeah, damn Regina… we gotta talk about that whole light magic thing." Said Ruby as she playfully smacked Regina over the shoulder. There was a large crash at the other end of the diner and Ruby rolled her eyes, "How about a night when it isn't so busy, hmmm?" she started shuffling back from the table and grabbed a broom, "Don't think I'll let that go. We gotta get a ladies night together soon. You two, me, Belle, Emma… we have _loads_ to talk about over some stiff drinks." Another loud crash came from the other side of the diner, Ruby growled and stocked away towards the dwarves who started belligerently singing an Enchanted Forest drinking song.

The two women dug into their food, Snow ravenously tearing away at her plate as though she hadn't eaten in centuries. Now that she thought about it, Regina realized that Snow had always possessed a rather unprincess-like approach to consuming food. _This must be where Emma gets her atrocious eating habits_, smiled Regina to herself as she pecked away at her food. Halfway through the meal, Snow came up for air and after a long gulp of water, sighed with satisfaction.

"I haven't seen much of Emma lately," she started causing Regina's eyes to flick towards the small brunette. She'd been meaning to ask after Emma, but never found an appropriate moment to do so. "She's been spending a lot of time at the station. I think she is just as eager for things to get back to normal as the rest of us." Regina hummed in reply. "Have you seen her much?" Regina glanced up at Snow, her green eyes full of curiosity and hope for answers. _She clearly feels something's off too_, thought Regina.

"Briefly," mumbled the former queen swallowing a bite, "She came to have dinner with Henry and me once, and I saw her leaving the station when I went to visit my sister." A sudden twinge of anxiety poked at Regina's stomach as she addressed Zelena as her sister. As awkward as it was for her to use such titles, she felt it necessary to personalize the wicked witch in order to aid in Zelena's redemption process. She knew all too well that referring to someone by the name thrust upon them by society only further removed them from humanization. Due to her own personal experience, she reverently refrained from using titles like, "Wicked Witch" and, "Dark One" in an attempt to quell the citizens of Storybrooke's insatiable need to riot.

"How did she seem?" Snow whispered.

"My sister's fine," began Regina, "as uppity and endearing as always." She snorted, but Snow remained stoic.

"I meant Emma," she whispered, her eyes darkening at the thought of the witch who nearly stole everything from her.

"Emma seemed fine," returned Regina politely. Snow leaned in closer across the table, capturing Regina's eyes.

"Really?"

"I suppose," said Regina lifting an eyebrow at the intensity of the forest green eyes piercing her own, "why do you ask, dear?"

"Well," Snow glanced around the diner in search of prying ears and lowered her voice, "she's been acting strangely. Ever since you returned from the barn and locked Zelena up."

"How so?"

"She's been keeping odd hours. For a few nights she didn't sleep… I could hear her tossing and turning in bed when I would get up to feed baby Neal."

"Is that unusual behavior?"

"Oh yes," Snow nodded her head solemnly, "she and David normally sleep like rocks. David doesn't even hear the baby cry at night."

"Perhaps Emma does?"

"That's what I thought initially, but then she started obsessing over Henry's book." Regina's eyebrows stretched upwards and she placed her silverware on the side of her plate, giving Snow her full attention. "I see her late at night pouring over the chapters on Oz. She'll read and reread every chapter, bending the pages and writing notes in the margins."

"Perhaps she's simply trying to understand."

"Again, that's what I thought, but then she said the most curious thing the other day," Snow looked around the room once more and leaned closer, Regina moved slightly to meet her, "she was rationalizing Zelena's actions and said that we had no idea what she's been through." Regina breathed deeply and pondered Snow's words.

"I don't believe that delving into the history of a _villain_ in order to understand their motives is a bad thing. I, for instance, almost wish someone would have done that for me- then perhaps things would have proceeded in a different manner." She sat back and folded her arms across her chest.

"So you're saying that Emma is learning from what happened with you and simply trying to understand Zelena?" Snow asked, her eyes hopeful that this was the only reason for her daughter's actions. Regina also hoped that this was the case, but deep down she knew that couldn't be the whole truth. Especially not after what she had overheard in the Sheriff's station. Emma was opening up to Zelena, confiding in her, seeking solace and understanding.

"Honestly, dear, I don't know." Sighed the brunette, pushing her plate aside and resting her arms on the table. Snow pushed her own plate aside and reached across the table, placing a hand on her stepmother's arm.

"I'm really worried, Regina," the former queen looked into Snow's eyes and saw etched in them, fear and concern. "There's something else." Snow leaned back and bit her lip, Regina focused all her attention on the small woman's words.

"What is it, Snow?" the small brunette sensed the genuine concern that laced Regina's words. She took a deep breath.

"She doesn't look at me the same way," mumbled Snow, "I look into her eyes and I see pain… so much pain, and anger. She barely talks to me and when she does, her answers are always blunt and dismissive. Before the first curse broke, she and I could talk about anything as roommates- then afterwards we had to slowly repair our relationship as mother and daughter. It was all going so well and she even _loved_ me and called me _mom_ until that day at the barn."

Regina considered Snow's words carefully. She too had noticed an emotional shift in Emma, not just behaviorally- but magically. The blonde's instability channeled through her magic and Regina had sensed an imbalance. Ever since the day at the barn, she had been too caught up in rekindling her relationship with Henry that she and Emma had barely even had time to talk. Not that they had grown close since Neverland, but they had definitely reached a point in which they could trust each other's confidence. She had been meaning to seek Emma out to continue her magic lessons, but she admitted to herself that she acted selfishly over the last few days by occupying her time with only Henry. She looked across the table at Snow who sat with her hands clutching her sides, her eyes cast downwards in reflection.

"Emma's magic is extremely powerful," she said snapping the small brunette to attention, "she has gone too long without proper guidance. Just as magic fuels from emotions, the state of whomever holds magic effects it greatly." Snow cocked her head to the side, her face scrunched in confusion. "Take me for example, my magic has _always_ been dark because it came from a place of extreme rage and pain. When we were in the barn and my sister had me in her grasp, I thought of Henry- I thought of…" she stopped suddenly, realizing she almost said, 'Emma,' "I thought of the love I have for him, and how badly I needed to live for him, thus, my magic turned light."

"Are you saying that magic can shift from dark to light depending on emotions?"

"No, dear, it's much deeper than that. The shift from dark to light occurs when a profound change in soul occurs. Releasing grief, anger, pain, and vengeance and filling that void with love and acceptance is what alters magic. It is no simple path."

"Can… can light magic turn dark?" Snow's eyes latched to Regina.

"If the person holds to anger, vengeance, grief- and in my sister's case, envy- yes, light magic can turn dark." Snow gasped and held a hand to her mouth, tears formed in her eyes.

"Do you," she whispered, "do you think Emma will…" she trailed off, unable to utter the words.

"Let's not jump to conclusions. Just because she is upset does not mean she will suddenly be enveloped in dark magic. She is not only the Savior, but she is also the product of True Love- which is inherently light." Snow sighed and leaned back in her seat. "But I believe we have let the Sheriff stew in her own emotions long enough. Since Henry is out of town, I think now would be a good opportunity to resume our magic lessons." Snow nodded faintly, her eyes still drenched with worry as she looked towards her stepmother. Regina knew what she had to do. She took a deep breath and slightly flexed her hand before placing it gently on top of Snow's. The tiny brunette's eyebrows shot upwards as she glanced down at the loving gesture from the former Evil Queen. "Don't worry, Snow," Regina said calmly, "I wont let anything happen to Emma. This I promise you." She smiled warmly at her former nemesis, who returned the smile just as warmly.

…..

"Emma, dearest, you must remember to _breathe_," stated Zelena firmly from behind the bars. The Sheriff stood before her levitating two office chairs, the third and just flown across the room. She took two deep inhales, but instead of calming- the two chairs began to vibrate. She breathed deeply once again, but just as she exhaled- the chairs shattered into millions of tiny pieces.

"Gods DAMN it!" the blonde screamed as she kicked the nearest desk. She stood with her fists clenched, her chest heaving. "Magic is fucking stupid, I'll never get the hang of it."

"Emma…"

"Just one more fucking thing I can't do…"

"_Emma_…"

"I'm just a fucking failure, I'll always be a failure. I can't levitate two fucking stupid chairs!"

"SAVIOR!" Zelena's voice filled the room causing shivers to ripple up Emma's spine. She turned to the red head who stood clutching the bars in front of her. The witches face the perfection of calm, but her mountain range of knuckles slowly whitening with impatience. "Relax, dearest." Emma breathed in through her nose and exhaled noisily. "Good. Now, I want you to make the chairs reappear."

"Seriously? I just blew them up trying to levitate them."

"You really need to stop doubting yourself, dearest. You are quite powerful. And I know you don't believe it, but you are much stronger than you think." Emma scoffed.

"Now let's try to repair the chairs, dearest. Hold out your hands and remember the repair incantation I taught you." Emma nodded and shook her hands, cracking her knuckles she lifted her arms forward and closed her eyes recalling the words. The pieces on the floor shook slightly for a moment, but fell back to their positions. Emma dropped her hands and growled.

"Tell me, Savior," Zelena began, she knew Emma was uncomfortable with that title, and used to further her purpose of egging the blonde into rage, "how were you _feeling_ when you tried to put the chairs back together?"

"Uh… hopeful, I guess. I didn't want to fail."

"Oh come now, darling, that's not nearly strong enough."

"What do you mean?"

"There are a whole variety of emotions to choose from. Usually every practitioner of magic has one particular emotion in which they fall back on to perform. Rumpelstiltskin's is regret, Regina's is grief, and mine is-obviously- envy." Emma blinked a few times trying to process Zelena's words, she's never thought of how all the other magical users in Storybrooke channeled their abilities.

"What about Blue?" she asked wondering what the fairy could possibly draw on for her power. Zelena sneered at the thought and instead of answering truthfully, supplied a well-rehearsed lie.

"She uses pixie dust, darling, which is ever so common and low brow. One hardly needs emotions with sparkly dust." Zelena smiled making Emma laugh.

"Okay then, so what's mine?"

"Think about that moment with the filing cabinet, or the one with the fire hydrants you told me about, or just now when the chairs shattered… what were you feeling?" Emma took a moment to think of each event, sifting through all the emotions that had been stirring so deeply in her soul since her return to Storybrooke.

"Huh," she said furrowing her brow. She couldn't believe how obvious it had been, "I think… I think it's anger." Zelena grinned slightly, though on the inside her smile reached through her entire body. Her plan is working.

"Bingo, darling," Said the witch smiling with pride at her instrument for vengeance.

"Anger has always been present in my life. Angry at my parents for abandoning me, angry with my childhood, angry with Neal for abandoning me, angry at myself for giving up Henry, angry that my destiny was chosen for me, angry at everyone in this town always wanting me to fix everything, angry that it wasn't me that stopped you…" Emma shut her mouth. That last admission of anger was something she didn't want to share with the Zelena, but the witch simply smiled.

"You were angry that you weren't the one to stop me?" she said with a small grin. Emma blushed and scuffed her boot across the floor.

"Yeah," she admitted, her head hanging low.

"Why would you be angry about that?" Emma ran a hand through her hair and pulled a chair up to the cell bars. Sitting heavily in it, she sat for a few moments in silence before speaking.

"I know I didn't want to be the Savior, and I still don't- but that was my position in this town. It was my security. I'm the Savior, I stop bad guys and break curses. But it wasn't me who broke this last curse.

"Regina," said Zelena, her eyes starting to shimmer with excitement, she had planned on twisting Emma's thoughts against Regina- but she didn't think it would come up so soon.

"Yeah, Regina," she sighed as she thought of the brunette. Of all the swirling emotions to consume Emma since her arrival at Storybrooke, the one she felt towards Regina was one she couldn't decipher. Or, at least, didn't _want_ to. "Regina broke the curse and restored everyone's memories. And then in the barn, it was Regina who stopped you and saved the day. It was all… _Regina_." She said with a final deep nod of her head.

"That Evil Queen always seems to be at the crux of problems, doesn't she?" Said Zelena, specifically using Regina's former title. Emma remained still, her brows furrowed in thought.

"I should be happy for her," she began slowly as she moved her hands to caress the sides of her face, slowly rubbing her middle fingers over her temples, "but I find that I'm actually… _angry_." It was a revelation she had been too scared to admit to anyone, let alone herself. Her feelings towards Regina had always moved up and down like a rollercoaster. She was initially smitten with the former mayor, then she hated her, then she pitied her, then cared for her, then… something else. Zelena watched Emma closely as if she could see each compartment in her train of thoughts.

"The line between love and hate is dreadfully thin," she began as she realized that this moment is to be seized for her purposes. Emma raised her head at the mention of 'love' like it was the word she had been searching for to describe her feelings for Regina, but Zelena quickly doused the flames, "and your feelings toward the Evil Queen is that of hate." Emma's eyebrows raised and she shook her head.

"No, I don't think that's it. I don't think I _hate_ Regina."

"Well do you love her?" asked Zelena. Her icy eyes fixed on Emma; reading every gesture, every in take of breath, each small action went studied and filed into Zelena's mind.

"I… I don't know," muttered the Sheriff.

"Well then that answers the question, dearest."

"It does?" the blonde lifted her head. Her eyes perceived Zelena as a concerned friend, one who only sought to soothe and help, but had Emma been not so blinded by her own emotional turbulence, she would have seen the flicker of malice in the witches eyes.

"If you loved Regina, then you'd know it for certain. Without question, really."

"I suppose…" mumbled Emma unsure of the witches words. Zelena saw her hesitation, and latched on to continue her plan.

"Think about Regina for a moment. She's the Evil Queen, she murdered and tortured who knows how many thousands of innocent people, she murdered your grandfather, attempted to murder both your mother _and_ your father, out of spite for something as trivial as tattle tailing, she cursed the thousands of people she had been tormenting for years to a foreign land- ripping their happiness from them." Emma sat patiently listening to Zelena's words, not quite certain where she was headed.

"But then you arrive," the witch continued, "and you found your biological son in the midst of an abusive relationship."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… stop right there," said Emma rising to her feet, "Regina was anything but an abusive parent and don't you dare say otherwise. She's only ever wanted Henry to be happy."

"If she only ever wanted Henry to be happy, then why did she perpetually keep you from seeing him, darling?" she watched Emma's anger recede and continued, "If spending time with you is what made Henry happy, then wouldn't she have let you spend time together? Tell me that's not some form of abuse." Emma sat back down in the chair with her arms crossed, thinking very carefully about her next few words.

"Abuse is an incredibly strong word to use in that case," she said looking back to Zelena, "Selfish, maybe, but I wouldn't call her abusive." Zelena nodded and readjusted her strategy, Emma's defense of her sister was slightly unexpected.

"Selfish. There is the word. She has _always_ been selfish and unappreciative. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe she tried to kill you. All so she could keep Henry to herself, regardless of how he would feel losing his biological mother."

"She gave us new memories for New York. That was probably the most selfless act I've ever seen in my life."

"Think harder about the memories she gave you, Emma. Were there any little quirks or traits that popped up in that year that you had never possessed?" The blonde sat still as she contemplated her fake memories. Then her mouth opened slightly with realization. "There we go," said Zelena, "You remember a few things she changed in order to make _you_ more like _her_." Emma's eyes widened in horror, she had always brushed off those strange parts of her fake memories- but now that she considered it, she felt somewhat betrayed and violated.

"I can't believe she did that," she whispered. Zelena's eyes flashed, her victory was so near she could taste it.

"Not only did she put her influence on your fake memories, but as I recall she worked tirelessly to restore Henry's memories. Regina wanted him to remember his issues with abandonment and rejection, the pain of not being believed during the curse, the agony of discovering that the woman who raised him is a sadistic villain, Regina wanted him to remember these things along with her betrayal when our mother came to Storybrooke, she wanted him to remember nearly dying, being kidnapped and taken to Neverland, tearing his own heart out, having his shadow nearly ripped from him, she wanted him to have the memories of leaving his family behind in Storybrooke, she wanted him to remember all of this and also the fact that the entire last blissful year of his life was all a _lie_. She wanted her son whom she apparently just wants to see happy, to remember all of the awful pain in his life simply so she could have _him_ for herself."

Zelena finished and watched as her words washed over Emma, she felt the pain and anger rise in the blonde. The Sheriff's jaw clenched, her hands gripped in fists. _And now for the big finale_, thought Zelena as she spoke once again.

"And she couldn't just stop with having Henry. Oh no, dearest. She had to take everything from you. She had to break the curse and stop me from going back in time. _She_ wanted to be the hero, _she_ wanted to be everyone's Savior. That is why you aren't happy for her sudden _epiphany_. Because she is taking _everything_ from you, "the witch licked her lips feverishly, "So now, darling, I ask you… is what you feel towards the Evil Queen _really_ love?"

"No," stated Emma through gritted teeth, "It's not." White-hot range swirled upwards from her stomach, scorching through her limbs to her fingertips where little pops of blue simmered across her fingernails. Zelena eyed the color with fascination and awe. She had tapped into Emma's anger… the Savior's normally brilliant white magic had faded to a shade of blue. The colorful tint indicated the rising presence of dark magic, though it wasn't fully formed- it was brewing… growing stronger. Internally she smiled victoriously, sensing her impending vengeance drawing near.

"Now, dearest," Zelena said without letting the small display of dark magic slip by, "feel your anger… think of what makes you angry and put the chairs back together."

Emma stood firmly and stretched her hands out, her body shook with anger as she concentrated on the incantation.

"Aaaah…" said Zelena softly, "Well done, dearest." Emma opened her eyes to find the chairs properly restored. A flood of shock and pride coursed through her veins. "What anger did you hold on to?" Inquired the witch excitedly from behind her bars. Emma looked at Zelena and then back at the chairs before whispering a single word.

"_Regina_."


	4. Chapter 4: The Shift

**A/N: Greetings friends,**

**I know I just **_**barely**_** updated, but I had another chapter lined up and I need to post it now. I'm moving out of my house tomorrow and I don't know when I'll have internet access again, hopefully it wont be for too long. **

**Prepare for some serious drama ahead.**

**Thank you for reading and please review!**

Snow paced nervously back and forth in the loft, her infant son resting comfortably and blissfully unaware in the protective arms of his mother. For the one-hundredth time in the last thirty seconds, the small brunette glanced at the clock, which read exactly 2:03 a.m. _Where's Emma?_ She thought over and over again, her breath becoming more frantic with each passing second. Snow felt her son stir in her arms and she gently sat down on a chair trying to calm her breathing in order to keep her new child in a peaceful state of sleep. Normally she would have seized the opportunity and squeezed a couple hours of sleep in before her son's cries would call to her, but she was too worried about her absent daughter- especially after her conversation with Regina at the diner.

She had read in one of her motherhood books (_The Mother's Guide to a Happy, Healthy Family Unit)_ to hold a balance of affection and independence in the older child after a new baby arrives. This practice was meant to aid the older child from suffocating under the parent's concern for its well being while simultaneously allowing the older child to explore independence and responsibility. Of course her older child, Emma, wasn't exactly a _child_ and had long since perfected the art of independence, but Snow devoutly believed the principles to be the same. She glanced back at the clock, 2:04 a.m. _Fuck The Mother's Guide to a Happy, Healthy Family Unit_, she thought to herself. She briskly, yet carefully, returned baby Neal to his cradle, grabbed her phone, and went to the kitchen.

She glanced at the clock, to the front door, and then dialed _9-1-1_ into her phone. She strummed her fingers on the counter impatiently as the phone rang a couple times.

"_Sheriff's station, If this isn't an emergency, I could really use a ten letter word for Shakespearean Insult," _came Emma's voice over the phone. Snow breathed a sigh of relief.

"Emma!"

"_Snow? Hey, is everything okay?"_

"Yes, everything's fine I was just worried about you."

"_Oh, I'm all good. Just working on a crossword."_

"Are you not coming home tonight?"

"_No, I thought I told you this morning- I have to pick up the night shift while David's out of town and there isn't really anybody else."_

"What about Ruby?"

"_Wolf night."_

"Oh… okay. Well, is everything fine at the station?"

"_Yeah, it's pretty quiet_," there was a long silence as Snow thought desperately of something to say now that she finally had the opportunity to talk to her daughter.

"Ten letter word for Shakespearean Insult, you said?"

"_Yeah, you know one?"_

"What does it begin with?"

"_An 'R,_'" yawned Emma. Snow smiled as she heard her daughter's pen tapping on the desk trying to think of the answer. It reminded her of Charming's pen tapping habits while filing taxes. She loved finding all of Emma's little quirks she had inherited from her parents despite the twenty-eight year separation.

"Rampallian," replied Snow.

"_Ram… what? You sure? I'm doing this in pen, so don't mess me up."_

"I'm sure. It's from Henry IV, part two. It says, 'You scullion. You rampallian. You fustilarian. I'll tickle your catastrophe.'" There was a brief silence before Emma's muffled laughter sang through the phone making her mother laugh as well. "What?"

"_That is just the weirdest goddamn sentence I've ever heard_," sighed Emma. Snow's face broke out into a large smile, she hadn't heard Emma laugh in a long time, "_Oh hey, it fits. Cool. Thanks."_

"No problem, honey," the term of endearment came out so naturally that Snow didn't even realize she had said it until she heard Emma fidget uncomfortably on the other side of the line.

"_Should I even ask how you know that quote by heart?" _

"No," Snow answered bluntly causing another tiny laugh from Emma. "It's good to hear you laugh, Emma." The other side of the line was silent, Snow immediately worried that addressing her daughter's emotions would cause her to shut down and squash this simple, yet already cherished, exchange.

"_Thanks, I guess_," the Sheriff finally replied. The answer seemed more confused than irritated, satisfying the young mother and filling her with the confidence to continue.

"What I mean is that, you've seemed a little stressed lately."

"_Oh, yeah, just kind of readjusting to everything here_," Snow hummed in reply, "_How's the mini man?"_ the blonde asked. Snow smiled at the little nickname her daughter had given her son.

"Asleep, finally," she yawned.

"_Oooh, Snow don't yawn you'll make me…"_ her sentence trailed off as a large yawn echoed out of the Sheriff's mouth over the phone. _"… thanks_." Snow laughed a little.

"Do you need anything, honey?" Emma gave a long sigh and Snow could hear her pen once again tapping on the desk.

"_Well, the coffee machine here is broken and Granny's is closed- I could use a cup if you have a minute_." Snow's heart leapt with the chance of helping her daughter.

"Yes, of course! One coffee coming right up," she said with a large smile plastered on her face, but her joy was short lived as the faint cry of her son called to her.

"_Is that the little man? Don't worry about the coffee, I'll be fine. Go do the mom thing._"

"He's fine, it's all fine. You'll get your coffee, don't worry honey," the small brunette sputtered out quickly, "I'll see you soon."

"_Hey if you can't, it's cool I'll just_-" but Snow had already hung the phone up and ran to her son's side. She scooped him up in her arms and cradled his tiny figure ushering soft words of comfort as she stroked his cheek with the back of her index finger. His small voice faltered and he relaxed back into sleep, but before she could put him down he began crying again. After repeating this sequence three more times, Snow gave up on going to the station herself, but she was determined to help her daughter in some approximation. "I hope it's not too late," she whispered out loud as she shot a text to Regina explaining the situation and asking for help. Less than a minute later she received a reply causing the small brunette's lips to slightly curve upwards.

_Before answering your question, dear, I would like to point out the hour in which you have contacted me. Please know that a little heart-to-heart over duck at Granny's hardly grants middle-of-the-night cries for help. I am, however, still awake and would like to stretch my legs, so I will bring the Sheriff her coffee._

Snow replied with a thank you and snapped her phone shut with a smile of appreciation before turning back to her wailing son.

…

"Country that starts with, 'U' that shares a water source with the Nile…" Emma repeated to herself as she tapped her pen on her half completed crossword. "Country with a, "U…" she contemplated.

"Uganda," came a low, clear voice from the doorway. Emma raised her head to see Regina Mills standing at her office door, two large paper cups of coffee in her hands. She looked at the brunette in surprise before turning her gaze downwards to see that 'Uganda' fit in the space provided. She hovered over the boxes, tempted to fill the space in, but a part of her didn't want to prove Regina right- so she through her pen lightly on the desk and folded her arms looking up at the former mayor.

"What're you doing here?" she asked with knitted brows. Regina felt sting shoot through her at the Sheriff's words. They were in no way antagonistic, but they also held no room for friendliness.

"Your mother contacted me saying that you needed coffee. She had her hands full with her baby and I was already awake, so…" she trailed her sentence and waited for Emma to signal her to enter. The blonde's gaze flicked around Regina's face, never making contact with her eyes- she seemed slightly nervous while also faintly uncomfortable to be helped by the brunette, who took note of this and internally scolded herself for agreeing to help Snow. But with a flick of her wrist she gestured for Regina to enter. The brunette strolled into the office and placed one of the large cups down in front of Emma before taking a seat at the opposite side of the desk.

The Sheriff grabbed the cup and inhaled, the aroma was intoxicating and rich. Turning her back to the brunette, she shuffled to a small desk and began tossing heaps of sugar into her cup. Regina turned around in her chair to capture a brief look at the cell holding her sister. Zelena's form stretched across the cot, her back facing the office- Regina noted the slight rise and fall of her shoulders and felt a bit more at ease knowing that she and Emma were alone. She twisted back and noticed the Sheriff was still spooning large mounds of sugar into her coffee. The sight made her smile as she took note, _Emma takes her coffee with lots of sugar_. Finally laying the spoon to rest, the Sheriff held the cup to her lips and took a long, large gulp capped with a satisfied sigh.

"You like it?" Regina said, breaking the silence. Emma turned her head around and slowly nodded.

"Oh, um, sorry… do you need sugar or milk or anything?"

"No, dear. Thank you. I drink my coffee black," she took a sip from her own cup. _You would_ thought Emma as she eyed the former mayor.

"Is Henry okay at the house by himself?" she asked as she slid back into her chair opposite Regina, being sure to position herself so she could see the jail cell at all times.

"He went with Robin, David, and Roland on a camping trip," replied Regina rather shocked that Emma didn't know. Henry had always been sure to update his blonde mother on his whereabouts while he stayed with Regina.

"Oh," said the blonde holding her fingers up to pinch the bridge of her nose, "that's right. I forgot. Have you heard from them?"

"No, but I assume they're getting their yaya's out sleeping in the dirt and feeding off squirrels," said Regina with as she rolled her eyes slightly. Emma wanted to laugh, but wouldn't allow herself to give the former mayor that satisfaction. Instead she pressed her lips to her coffee and nodded her head. The two women sat in silence, slowly sipping down their coffee, avoiding each other's gaze.

"Look, Emma," began the brunette snapping Emma's attention away from the jail cell, "I know we haven't spoken much since that day at the barn, and I apologize for being somewhat off the grid as of late. There is something I've been meaning to ask you." At the brunette's words, Emma's heart fluttered slightly and she felt a strange squeeze in her stomach that reminded her of the feeling she had the first time she was asked out on a date. Excitement rose in her chest at the possibilities of what Regina Mills could ask of her, but before she could think more on the matter- Zelena's words crept into her brain, clouding her excitement, replacing it with defiance. _What would the perfect Regina Mills want with me?_ She found herself thinking. The thought seemed foreign and uncomfortable, like it didn't quite belong- but she forced it to stay, reminding herself that the woman sitting across from her is responsible for shattering her blissful life in New York and causing her and her son to remember all of the awful, painful events of their recent life.

"Oh?" she said a bit too high-pitched and eagerly, she quickly cleared her throat and deepened her voice to sound passive, "Oh?" she said again, looking towards the brunette over the rim of her coffee cup. Regina took note that Emma seemed to be staring at every space surrounding her eyes, but never looking directly in them. She found this kind of behavior bizarre considering Emma had always been the only one to look her directly in the eyes, challenging her, letting her know that they are equal- but not tonight. Something's different.

"I wanted to ask if you still wished me to tutor you in magic," said the brunette hopefully. "It's been quite a while and it's unhealthy to leave such a vital part of your person unexercised." She stared down the blonde, quickly flicking her eyes around the Sheriff's face trying to match the pattern in which the green eyes traveled… so desperate to avoid her. Emma sat in silence, which she purposefully extended by taking a larger than necessary gulp of coffee and swishing it around in her mouth before slowly swallowing.

"I don't know, Regina," she finally answered turning her gaze to rest on her coffee cup as she tapped its sides with her fingers contemplating her next words, "I'm kind of swamped here with David being gone and Ruby wolfing at night."

"Clearly," Regina retorted without missing a beat as she eyed the stacks of completed crosswords that covered the Sheriff's desk. She knew Emma was most likely in no mood for sarcasm, but she couldn't help herself. She bit her tongue and offered a tiny smile hoping it would soothe whatever wound she had created. But Emma continued eyeing her coffee cup and tapping it with her fingers, apparently unfazed by Regina's playful jab. The former mayor cleared her throat, "You've been spending a lot of time here lately." Emma's eyes quickly flicked to Regina's face, passing briefly over the figure in the jail cell before returning to her cup.

"Yeah," she mumbled, "Been keeping an eye on things." Regina followed the blonde's green eyes as they drifted back and lingered on the jail cell.

"Has my sister given you much trouble?" Emma's eyes snapped to Regina. In that moment they finally made eye contact and the former mayor saw a glimmer of protection steam from the Sheriff's eyes before they quickly returned to the coffee cup.

"Not at all," she murmured as she took another sip of coffee, "why should she?" Regina took a deep breath, carefully searching for the right words to say. The brief glimpse of Emma's eyes spoke volumes of what Regina had feared to be coming true. Emma had grown protective of the witch, in a similar way Regina had grown protective of her mother when she had been in Storybrooke. It was a look of unrequited devotion, blind defiance, a look of such longing for understanding and a sense of belonging that Regina felt her breath hitch slightly with grief. She mourned that Emma had felt so lost and lonely that she had turned to the one person in the town that would use her vulnerability to manipulate her and drag her down a dark and lonely path. The same path Regina was all-too familiar with. She never wanted Emma to experience that kind of loneliness and depression, so she promised herself to stop that from happening if it is last thing she does.

"I know she's powerless, I just want to make sure everyone is in a comfortable situation," the brunette finally answered.

"She's locked up in a jail cell in the middle of a town of people who hate her, how comfortable do you think she is?" said the blonde picking her fingernail along the lid of her cup, daring Regina to say _anything_ against her new friend. "Yup," she sighed, "Zelena's in a jail cell paying for her crimes while others with who are responsible for even more terrible horrors are still walking around free." She flicked the lid of her cup off with her thumbnail and downed the rest of her coffee before crunching the cup in her hands and aggressively throwing it-awfully close to Regina's shoulder- into the trash can in the corner. She laced her fingers and placed them over her stomach as she stared up at the ceiling. Regina's gaze never left the Savior's face, her eyes studying each feature- her face lined with concern. She had an inkling that Emma's comment was partially, if not entirely, meant for her. The next few minutes would have to be played carefully.

"I suppose it is only temporary," she began by clearing her throat, "being powerless can be a sudden shock to one's system, there should be time for recovery. Not to mention, as you said, she remains in a town where nearly everyone wants to see her dead. It's only fitting that she spend some time here to cool her heels along with the minds of Storybrooke's citizens." Emma shallowly nodded, her gaze remained fixed on the ceiling. Regina silent congratulated herself for not provoking the protective beast lying crouched and ready to pounce.

Regina observed the blonde sitting across from her. At their first meeting, Regina had been taken aback by Emma's beauty, but the circumstances of this woman being her son's biological mother pushed all base desires from thought and were replaced by studies for weaknesses. Every observation of the Sheriff during her first year in Storybrooke was analyzed and weighed for uses as a device to use against her. But now, she had no reason to fear or loathe the mother of her son, she remained without reason to harm her, and she finally found herself able to observe the Savior as a human… and as a woman.

Long golden curls cascaded down from her head and partially rested over the chair, while the rest hung across her shoulders. Now that she considered it, Emma always kept herself up at an aesthetically pleasing level. A small smile graced the former mayor's lips as she imagined Emma waking up and going about her morning routine. Fixing her hair, picking out clothes- performing all the menial tasks that all humans do, but rarely stop to consider others doing as well. As carefree as the Sheriff may try to present herself, it was obvious by her physical upkeep that even she wanted to look presentable, even she put time and care into how she looked.

Regina's eyes followed the trail of golden hair down Emma's biceps, down her forearm, before resting on her hands. Her fingers were long and bony, laced with manual labor yet coated with a fine touch of maternal softness. Her heart warmed as she envisioned Emma's slightly scarred yet delicate hands stroking Henry's hair, she imagined them pulling their son into an embrace- conduits of a mother's love and affection. She had never taken time to picture the Sheriff in this way, but now as she did- it only amplified her desire to take her into her arms, stroke her long beautiful hair, and be the comfort the woman had always craved. It pained her to know how deeply the blonde has been hurt throughout her life, she wished to hug away all of her troubles, and softly kiss away her tears- but she was interrupted from her thoughts by two piercing green eyes looking directly at her.

"Regina," came the Savior's voice. Regina shook her head, swiping a few strands of hair from her face.

"I'm sorry, I got lost in my thoughts," she said as she straightened her blouse. Emma watched the brunette and couldn't help but steal a glance as Regina's fingers smoothed across the fabric. She quickly snapped her eyes away before the former mayor could notice. She had always found herself attracted to Regina, though she had to stifle those feelings down in order to save the town who knows how many countless times, whenever there came a moment of peace- she found her thoughts always drifted to one person: Regina.

But now as she thought of the brunette, Zelena's words seeped into her brain, strangling the thoughts of attraction and fondness, wiping them from thought. With the witch's words fresh in her brain, she looked over the brunette and began picking at small details, forcing them out of endearment and into an element of disdain. She had to remind herself that this woman is the crux of her problems, the reason she has so much anger. She had to keep reminding herself of this, with each stolen glance Zelena's words twisted in her head. She wanted to believe them, but a part of her had an overwhelming feeling that the woman sitting across from her couldn't possibly be the woman Zelena's conjured. However much she tried to push Zelena's fabrication of Regina from her mind, the more forcefully it struck back- her arguments becoming more convincing with each passing moment. It were these thoughts that pushed the blonde's next question.

"Why am I here, Regina?" the blonde asked sincerely. The very nature of the question shocked the former mayor to silence. "See, you don't even know why I'm here." Said the blonde tossing her hands in the air.

"No, Emma," Regina leaned forward placing her hands on the desk, "I was just surprised. I wasn't expecting a question like that from you."

"What do you mean _from me_?" the Sheriff's voice getting defensive. Regina took note and calmed her voice the best she could.

"What I meant, is that it seemed an unlikely question coming from a woman who lives in a town with her parents, her son, friends, and a job. You are surrounded by," her voice hitched for a moment, "love. People her love you." Emma scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"People here don't love me. People here only _need_ me," she hissed as she massaged her fingers together, "Or, at least, they _did_." Emma gazed out the window, refusing to look at Regina, whose eyes she could feel burrowing into her.

"People here love you, Emma. _And_ they need you."

"As a symbol, a dancing monkey, someone to lump all their problems on so they can sit around on their asses doing _nothing_," hissed the blonde. Her tone sent a wave of panic through the former mayor, she had never heard Emma speak with such disdain. She was at a complete loss for words, but she found them unnecessary- for the Sheriff continued her rant without hesitation. "The _Savior_. I'm no savior. I'm a washed up orphan with a fucked up perspective on life and a long list of failures on my heels. What good have I ever done this town, hmm?" she comically spread her arms out before slapping them down on her thighs, "_Nothing_. Ever since I arrived people have been fighting, getting, hurt, and dying. They didn't need me for anything. They just wanted to give me all this responsibility and laugh as I failed over and over again."

"You broke the curse," Regina mumbled. Emma flew to her feet and started pacing, keeping her eyes glued to the ground- avoiding Regina.

"Henry broke the curse. And after that, well, I didn't even _have_ to be here for Cora- Snow took care of that pretty quickly," a small flinch came from Regina's blurry figure out of the corner of Emma's eye, but she ignored it and continued, "and then low and behold, Greg and Tamara arrive and I can't even protect my _son_. They kidnap him and we run off to Neverland where I'm _still_ not needed. We get back from Neverland, no thanks to me, and Rumpelstiltskin takes down Peter Pan. Rumpelstiltskin… not the Savior. Then Henry and I leave for New York and have the best damn year of our lives, and then we wind up back in this fucking town with these fucking people who expect me- a person who's memory had been wiped, a person who has been gone for a year- to figure out why they are all stuck again. But who figures it out? Not me. Who breaks the curse? _Not me_. And who takes down the Wicked Witch of the West, hmmm? Not me. I'm completely, fucking USELESS!" With a flash of blue light, a million tiny explosions pop around the room as each light bulb in the Sheriff's station shatters to the ground- coating the building in thick darkness.

Regina remains seated, her hands clutching the sides of the chair- Emma's heavy breathing can be heard from the other side of the room. She dare not speak or move. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, Emma's magical energy radiates around the room. It's hot and dense- aggressively permeating into every corner making the hairs on the back of Regina's neck stand on end. She had only ever felt this kind of rage from herself. And now being on the receiving end of it, she found she was not afraid, instead, she was full of sorrow. Moved beyond tears, Regina sat in the chair, clutching its sides and absorbing Emma's magic- trying her best to remain strong, trying her best to remain composed. She never thought Emma's pain had gotten so severe and the thought of her own ignorance sent a wave of her own self-loathing piercing the depths of her being.

"Oh, Emma…" she accidently whispered out loud. Her voice cracked and shook as she mourned for the blonde. After a few minutes she heard Emma's boots bolting from the room carrying the overwhelming sensation of rage-induced magic with them. And then… silence. Regina sat alone for a few minutes, breathing in the silence and attempting to cultivate some form of stability from it. She took a few deep inhales and flicked her wrist instantly restoring the light bulbs. She still sat in the chair in the office, but Emma had run away. She couldn't feel her presence anywhere near, so she knew she had to be long gone by now.

"Beautiful isn't it?" came a sickeningly sweet voice from behind Regina. She turned around and saw her sister pressed against the bars, a large toothy smile plastered across her face. The former queen stood to her feet and slowly approached the bars.

"What did you do to her?"

Zelena simply giggled and pushed her grin wider so it enveloped her face. Her icy eyes flickered with tiny flames as they peered through the bars plunging into Regina's. _It wont be long now_, she thought with another vile giggle.


	5. Chapter 5: Dear, Dearie, and Dearest

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'm sorry it's taken me longer than usual to update. As I said previously, I was forced to leave my home and ended up staying in a friend's van. However, I now have a lovely spot on a couch in the kitchen for a month. So while I'm not out hustlin' trying to sell my art, I can decompress and continue writing this lovely tale. **

**MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH btw. Yup. There you go. Shit's going down.**

**Thanks for reading, please review, and enjoy!**

With a flash of blue light, a million tiny explosions pop around the room as each light bulb in the Sheriff's station shatters to the ground- coating the building in thick darkness.

Her eyes clamped shut. Electricity broiled in her stomach before shooting through her veins to her fingertips. Rubbing the tips of her fingers against her palms, she felt her skin crack and sizzle. All sound whipped from the room leaving only the harsh rattles of her breath as she tried to process what had just happened. A serge of emotions flickered through her chest all at once: anger, grief, regret, embarrassment, catharsis… her mind reached out to the darkness trying to grip onto something… _anything_. As her mind reeled, a single voice carried through the air and penetrated her heart.

"Oh, Emma…" came the brunette's voice from a couple feet away. A warm sensation flooded the blonde's heart at the words. A part of her longed to reach out to the woman in the darkness and caress her, another wanted to throttle the woman who had taken everything from her, and another part wanted to flee in embarrassment. She felt the energy within her simmer and sizzle; fearing the power she felt rising, Emma let her feet sweep her out of the office and away into the night.

Like jumping into a vat of ice water, the sensation of running out into the cold Maine air wiped all thought from Emma's mind as she let her instincts take hold, allowing her feet to take her anywhere. The hard concrete of the ground beneath her suddenly changed to damp earth as she ran and ran and ran. It wasn't until she was deep in the forest that her legs finally gave out and her body crashed to the ground. Digging her fingers into the cold earth she let out a mournful cry and fell onto her side. Pulling her knees to her chest, Emma dug the side of her head into the earth and clawed at the ground in front of her.

With a final cry echoing through the trees, she laid her head to rest and brought her mud stained hands to her face, allowing the tears she had been holding back since her return to Storybrooke to release. Her shoulders shook violently as tears streamed from her eyes, her fingers mangled in her hair holding her head- every inch of her body ached. She had never known a moment in her life where she felt more lost. Throughout her life she always felt like she had some semblance of control, she had always believed herself to be independent and strong- but after arriving in Storybrooke and having her world turned upside down, she couldn't help but feel like she had always been twisted, stretched, and molded by others… forcing her to become a person she didn't even recognize.

First it was Henry, building her up as some kind of glorious white knight, fantasizing and exaggerating her purity as she rides into town to vanquish the Evil Queen. Then came her parents, shaping her into the perfect image of what they had hoped from a daughter, then came the town- who poured all of their trust, faith, and grievances on her shoulders. The town was followed by Rumpelstiltskin who prodded and pried into her life, scheming and planning her actions with unsettling clarity.

And just when she thought she was about to drown under everyone's preconceived notions, Zelena came along- whispering beautiful words of comfort and solidarity. Emma wanted to believe and trust Zelena, but her own emotions conflicted with the witch's words. In a sense, Zelena seemed to know her more than she knew herself, so perhaps it is Zelena who is speaking the truth, and Emma's own stubborn nature rejecting what should be so obvious. Or, it could be the other way around. The witch could be manipulating her for her own reasons just like everyone else in the town. But she had seen such pure truth from Zelena's eyes during some of their many conversations about the past. She had seen how the witch tightened and gazed off as she spoke of her childhood abuse, Emma believed her for she too knew all too well what it felt like to recall those memories. Zelena _had_ to be connecting with her on a real level absent personal gain. She couldn't be as wicked as everyone believed. After all, everyone believed Regina to be evil long after she ceased to be… _Regina_.

At the thought of the former Evil Queen's name, a set of fresh, bitter tears ran down Emma's face. She clutched to her head harder, her shoulders shook feverishly. All of the emotions that flooded through her body just at the thought of the brunette made Emma relapse into a state of existential confusion. Not long ago she was completely convinced she hated Regina, but after seeing her tonight- she felt that hating the woman was simply impossible. She seemed so friendly, concerned, and inviting- not power crazy, harsh, and selfish as she had believed. But then Zelena would be wrong, which couldn't be true because her magic _worked_ when Zelena told her to feel her anger… and her anger had been toward Regina. Emma clutched onto her body tighter, squeezing her tear-stung eyes shut trying to erase all thought from her mind, she didn't wish to feel anymore.

As her body convulsed on the cold, damp earth- between choking sobs she issued a grief stricken cry trying to produce any kind of sound just to convince herself that she still existed. Her breath shuddered as she opened her eyes to the night sky, attempting to plead for anything- but the only word to slip from her mouth sent shockwaves through her body, "Regina," she sobbed to the night sky.

"Emma?" Came a low, clear voice from behind her. Emma's breath quickly caught and she spun around on the dirt to see Regina standing only feet from her.

….

Regina stormed from the Sheriff's office absolutely livid. Her sister refused to tell her anything of what had happened between her and Emma, but Regina didn't even have to ask to know that Zelena has been slowly manipulating Emma. She just didn't know to what end. The sheer magnitude of Emma's magic alarmed Regina, and she knew she had to find the blonde soon- before she hurt anyone or herself. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, thinking of Emma. _Where would she go?_ _Emma… Emma… Emma… Emma… Emma_, then she heard a faint cry in her head. "Regina" came the blonde's voice in her head. The brunette's heart clenched at the amount of pain coming from the blonde's voice. She held on to the voice she heard in her head and was instantly whisked away in a cloud of smoke before reappearing in the middle of the forest.

The sight before her pierced her heart. Laying a few feet away from her was the huddled form of the Sheriff, clutching at her sides with dirt-stained fingernails- openly wailing. Even with the blonde's face hidden from her, Regina had only to observe the shuddering body and shaking shoulders amidst the broken sobs to know that before her lay a woman cloaked in grief. Though she couldn't deny her own feelings, a small part of her wanted to simply walk away- true she and Emma had made communicative progress over the last year, but she feared the crumpled blonde huddled a few feet away from her wouldn't be receptive to her assistance.

She shifted back and forth on her feet as she internally battled over staying or leaving until her eyes caught a faint shimmer of blue smoke coating the Sheriff's body. Recognizing the dark magic emanating from Emma's body, Regina let out a small gasp. The sound jolted the blonde from her flood of emotions and she flipped around to see Regina standing near, eyes in shock. As the two women locked eyes, Regina felt tears form in her own eyes as her gazed pierced through the blonde's water-filled eyes to see a small flicker of blue swirling in a sea of emerald. At this moment, she knew she had to stay. "Hi," breathed the brunette.

…

"Hello, dearie," slithered the serpentine voice through the empty Sheriff's station. Zelena's eyes shot open and her ears pricked up in response to the voice. Without turning around in her cot, she knew exactly who stood just outside her cell. Keeping her back to her former tutor, she let out an exaggerated sigh and stretched her limbs.

"Well if it isn't my dearest Rumpelly-Bumpelly," she awarded herself with a smug smile as she heard the man's irritated tap of his cane against the tile after being addressed in such a condescending fashion. "And to what do I owe this unfortunate honor?"

"Oh, none but yourself, dearie," sighed Rumpelstiltskin, "thanks to your incessant festering with the emotions of your beloved sister and Miss Swan, you have succeeded at chasing them off so we could have this precious alone time."

"Getting sentimental are we, Rumpel?" sneered Zelena with her back still turned to the man. When he answered her jest with silence she inquired, "Do tell why you're _really_ here."

"Oh, I think you know the answer to that, dearie." She felt a shift in the air and finally turned around to find Rumpelstiltskin standing itches from her within the cell. His cane rested under his arm while his right hand brandished the infamous dagger of the Dark One. Stroking the blade softly with his left index finger, he smirked as he watched the red head's gaze flick between his face and the dagger. She felt a slight twinge of fear in her stomach, but maintained a stoic composure- being sure to not give in to the puerile desires of the imp.

"So," she began taking a deep breath through her nose, "you've come to exact your pound of flesh with your trusty toothpick?" The man stood still, his lip slightly curved upwards as his eyes penetrated Zelena, knowing her thoughts.

"Oh no, dearie, I am not going to kill you with this," he said pointing at his dagger, "No, you see, what I have in mind should echo a little more _close to heart_," he whispered as a glossy film crossed his sharp eyes. On the outside, Zelena scoffed at the comment and rolled her eyes, but internally she felt a foreign sensation surface. She suddenly felt a pang of longing for her sister, a wish for Regina to be with her. The sensation came so suddenly and unexpectedly that she let her façade drop for an instant, and Rumpelstiltskin watched it all. While she was trapped in these thoughts he seized the opportunity and plunged his hand deep into her chest.

With a harsh gasp, Zelena felt the man's cold, boney hand clench around her heart as he ripped it from her body. He held up the quickly beating, nearly darkened mass and gave a little laugh.

"I regrettably admit that I was under your control for a long, long time- dearie," he held Zelena's heart close to his face, inspecting it, "but now you… are _mine_." His smarmy smile grew a couple inches as he turned the heart around in his hand. The witch remained rooted to the ground, she could feel his influence like shockwaves traveling up and down her body. "Now, I'm going to give you a little going away present. As you are well aware, your little games have Regina and Miss Swan all scrambled up emotionally. But, have you given any thought as to what these little games have been doing to _you_?" he removed his eyes from her heart and looked up to Zelena, her eyes swirling with a mixture of fear and anger. He smiled and looked back to her heart.

"Ah, yes, that is your greatest flaw, isn't it? Always concerning yourself with others and never yourself. I want to show you something I think you'll find particularly interesting." Putting his sword under his arm by his cane, he held her heart up to her face, being careful to keep it in a tight grip. "Go on, dearie, take a look. It wont bite." She sent him a glare before letting her eyes fall upon her heart. Her breath hitched for a moment as she looked down at her blackened heart and saw a tiny golden crack forming from the center.

"What _is_ that?" said the red head with genuine curiosity. Rumpelstiltskin smiled, pulling the heart closer to his own face to inspect it.

"That, dearie, is light," Zelena's eyes furrowed, "Now I know you're thinking that's impossible, but what you are looking at here is the direct result of your little mind games. The entire time you thought you were manipulating Miss Swan, it was actually as much therapy for you as it was for her. Now, your motives were- inherently- quite selfish and cruel; however, on a subconscious level- discussing your past was actually helping you. If you would have stopped thinking about revenge for a single minute, you would have seen your own change." Zelena remained silent, her brow remained furrowed- she didn't believe a word dripping from this liar's mouth.

"Now, I know you think I'm lying so I'm actually going to prove it to you," holding her heart in his palm, he moved his other hand over her heart which started to slightly glow with a soft light. "What you see here, dearie, is your heart's potential. In a couple minutes you're going to feel everything your heart is capable of." The witch simply rolled her eyes and folded her arms, but a moment later she completely froze.

A soft ball of warm light formed in her stomach, slowly pulsating before it exploded and streamed through her body, twisting around her bones, shooting to her fingertips. The sensation was warm and gentle. She felt kindness, peace, and love. It filled her to the brim- her eyes watered with the overwhelming waves of warmth. Visions of her future life living in a quiet peace on her farm in Storybrooke flashed before her eyes, images flickered of she and Regina embracing, she and Emma laughing together- scenes of such sweet longing flooded through her buckling her knees. Rumpelstiltskin stood above her, a victorious smirk stretching across his face.

At this moment, Zelena had an epiphany that fulfilling her envy through vengeance was petty and unnecessary- she had the capacity to love and be loved in return. Her hands reached to her face as tears poured from her eyes with the deepest regret for her actions since losing her magic. "No," she whimpered softly, that single word loaded with the guilt of a thousand lifetimes.

"Yes, dearie," smirked Rumpelstiltskin removing his hand from over her heart, his eyes jubilant with the guttural moan that issued from the red head as he removed her visions of happiness, "what you just felt is no lie, it is- in fact- the ability you have retained within yourself and let become buried under your lustful craving for vengeance." He squatted to the floor so he rested at eye level with the defeated witch, forcing her to look up into his eyes. "Now, you're probably wondering why I allowed you to feel that, well, I wanted you to realize what you could have had, I wanted you to feel the future you were very likely to have hadn't you stepped on my toes. I wanted you to see and feel it, just as I want you to see and feel me taking it away from you." And with those words he squeezed her heart in his hand until only a pile of dust remained. Uncorking a small vile he poured the grainy remains of the witches heart into the vile and slid it into his pocket. Standing up and walking from the cell, he turned over his shoulder and smiled with satisfaction at the cold, dead heap of the Wicked Witch of the West sprawled across the floor of her cell.

…..

Regina sat on the floor of the forest cradling the huddled form of the Savior. She softly stroked her golden locks as Emma slowly cried everything out, embracing the sweet release offered her, reveling with gratitude for the tenderness shown her from the former Evil Queen. Regina felt relieved that she needn't say a word of comfort, she felt at ease with Emma's need to simply be held absent explanation. As unfortunate as the circumstances were, Regina reveled in the feeling of holding Emma close- offering her solace in some approximation. She felt even more comforted as she watched the blue shimmer shrink into thin air as the blonde's emotional level slowly dissipated.

Emma welcomed the embrace, even though her thoughts and feelings about Regina conflicted- she still felt drawn to her. An almost infantile craving for another human being overwhelmed her when in Regina's presence. Time passed unnoticed as the two women sat together for what could have been minutes or hours until Emma finally broke the silence, "I'm sorry, Regina," she whispered as she clutched to the brunette's arm and nuzzled in her lap.

"For what, dear?"

"For what… what happened back at the station. I don't know what happened I just lost control."

"We can handle all of this. I will be here to help you," she paused briefly considering her next word, "I will be here to help you… always." She held her breath waiting for the blonde's response, Emma clutched to her arm tighter making a sad smile cross Regina's face. "You're never alone, Emma. I'll always be here." She placed a gentle kiss on the blonde's head and cradled her closer.

Emma's eyes closed softly at the touch and a single tear escaped her eye. As conflicted and lost as she was earlier, at that exact moment she felt complete. She felt like everything was right. She began to feel optimistic. With Regina here to help her, together they could help Zelena and everything could finally be on the mend. "Thanks, Regina." Smiled Emma. Regina smiled warmly down at the blonde and gave a her a small squeeze, the warmth she felt in her chest filling her until it was suddenly replaced with a chill making her shiver. _Something's wrong_, she thought to herself, _something's happened_. She couldn't quite place where the feeling came from, but she recognized it as the feeling of some sort of extreme change in the town- the kind of change that only brings more pain and suffering.

After more time passed and both women felt their bodies growing significantly stiff, they agreed to get coffee and head back to the station to talk things out with Zelena. While at Granny's they had discussed multiple therapy options, magic training, and reassimilation and were eager to get to the Sheriff's station to discuss everything with Zelena. As they walked into the station, Regina stopped dead. The cold shivering feeling returned, crawling up her spine. She hesitantly moved forward and joined Emma who stood still in mid stride, her eyes wide and gazing into Zelena's cell. Approaching the cell, Regina gasped as she looked down to see the lifeless body of her sister sprawled on the floor with a large gaping hole on her chest indicating her heart had been torn from her body. They stood in silence looking at the body until Emma's head snapped towards Regina.

"You. _You did this_," she hissed.

"Emma," Regina said half shocked and fully offended, "I wouldn't… she's my…" but before she could string a sentence together, the ground beneath their feet began to shake. She looked into the blonde's eyes and saw that her normally bright green eyes were replaced with a deep, murky blue. Her fists clenched to her sides, her gaze remained fixed on Regina's, the anger and loathing she felt towards the brunette pulsating from her body.

"Emma," Regina said cautiously putting her hands up in surrender, "… please."

"_You did this!"_ snarled the blonde. And with one quick gesture she shoved her hands forward, plunging Regina across the room and through the wall of the office. Grabbing Zelena's body and holding it in her arms, Emma disappeared in a cloud of dark blue smoke.


	6. Chapter 6: Lightning

**A/N: Greetings, friends!**

**Hopefully I'll be able to update more regularly now. Life's been getting real. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review! Shout out to WickedEvilPanda. **

**Again, all comments, criticisms, concerns, and suggestions are welcome. Enjoy!**

"_The fact is we don't know what actually happened."_

"_I don't want to jump to conclusions."_

"_Is she waking up?"_

"_Shhh!"_

Regina heard the muffled voices for a brief moment until an overwhelming pain screeched from her head before projecting down her body. Slowly she opened her eyes, barely making out the forms huddled around her. Flexing her fingers she notices she's on the ground in a cold, hard place.

"Where am I?" she mumbles as she blinks trying to clear her vision. A warm hand presses her shoulder, encouraging her to sit back.

"The cellar at Granny's," came Ruby's voice from next to her.

"You've been unconscious for hours," came the unmistakable voice of Belle hovering on her other side. Suddenly Regina remembers her encounter with Emma and sits straight up. Feeling light headed she feels another warm hand gently press her back down so her back is resting against a shelf. She finally managed to focus her eyes and saw a concerned Belle on her right side holding a small towel slightly covered with blood and dirt, on her left she saw an incredibly battered looking Ruby. Her left eye swelled with black and blue, she had multiple lacerations across her face and a fat lip.

"What happened to you?" said Regina looking intensely at Ruby. The young woman simply shrugged her shoulders and exchanged a sad glance towards Belle. Regina looked between the two women, "Emma… where's Emma?!" she tried to sit up again, but Belle pressed her firmly back.

"There's a lot of questions to be answered," replied Belle softly, "and if we're going to get through this we will have to do it slowly. You've had some serious injuries after going through that wall, and we don't know all that is wrong just yet. We also couldn't risk taking you to the hospital." Regina looked dumbfounded between the two women.

"What happened?" she asked sternly. Belle glanced at Ruby who began to unravel her tale.

_Ruby stretched her limbs to the ceiling with a giant yawn. Although she'd spent decades waking up at four in the morning to open the diner with Granny, it never got any easier. Just as Granny set her coffee down in front of her, the room started to shake. Her mug fell to the ground and smashed, dishes fell from the shelves shattering to the floor, Ruby held on to the counter to keep herself upright. When the shaking ceased, she looked up to see Granny perched behind the counter, crossbow in hand. _

"_What was that?" she asked. But before Granny could respond, there came a loud explosion from the down the street causing both of them to jump. _

"_Sheriff's station," whispered Granny as she and Ruby ran out the door. As they ran down Main Street, a large, gaping hole could be seen in the side of the Sheriff's station. As they ran closer they saw a swirl of dark blue smoke and Regina's unconscious figure splayed out in the gutter._

"_Regina!" cried Ruby as she ran to the unconscious woman, Granny jumped through the hole in the station and started inspecting the scene. Crossbow raised, ears pricked, nose hard at work she set about scanning the room. _

"_The witch isn't here," huffed Granny from inside as Ruby propped Regina into her arms so she was carefully cradling her head. _

"_Where's Emma?" asked Ruby looking around._

"_Don't know," murmured Granny with a suspicious glance. She sniffed around the room, "she's definitely been here recently, but there's a scent in here I can't recognize." Ruby lifted her head to sniff, her eyes narrowing. She couldn't place the smell, but she recognized it to be dark. A soft whimper sounded from Ruby's arms jolting the women from their concentration._

"_She's alive," breathed Ruby, "Regina's alive!" Granny hopped out of the office and over to the former mayor cradled in Ruby's arms. _

"_Not for long," she said pressing her fingers to the former queen's throat, "if Zelena did this then we have to get her somewhere safe."_

"_The protection spell on the Charming's loft should still be working, it was created to protect all those within from Zelena."_

"_Then we better get her there quick." _

_After updating Snow on the events of the morning, Ruby and Granny put Regina to bed and called Belle to help Snow take care of her while they went out to search for Emma. After everyone was settled and sure Regina was out of harm's way, Ruby set out to find the missing Sheriff. Just as she left the door, she came face to face with Emma. Her skin paler than usual, her blonde hair frayed and messy, dark circles edged deep around her gaunt eyes. She stood firmly, though her hands shook, her eyes stretched out as if lost in thought. Ruby's nose pricked up and she noticed a strange smell emanating from the Sheriff, the same smell she and Granny were unable to decipher at the station. _

"_Emma?" she said gently. The blonde's head slightly twitched as she held her head up to see who was addressing her. _

"_Ruby," she whispered, "hey," Her voice seemed uneasy and strained. _

"_You okay, Em?" the blonde didn't answer, she simply cast her eyes back to the ground, "where's Zelena?" at the mention of the witches name, Emma snapped her head up, her eyes zeroing in on Ruby. _

"_She's dead," Ruby saw a flash of blue in Emma's eyes as she whispered the words. She could tell something is off with her friend, and it made her uneasy. _

"_We found Regina," said Ruby, "she was barely alive when we found her, but…" a dark swirl of blue circled Emma's eyes making Ruby unable to finish her sentence. The blonde's features hardened, her eyes nearly black, Ruby looked down at her hands and saw trails of blue vibrating around her fingers. Then she smelled it, dark magic. She wasn't sure what happened in the Sheriff's station, but for some reason she knew she had to keep Regina away from Emma until they could figure out what happened. _

"_Where is she?" said Emma. Her voice low, quaking, her fists clenched together and shook at her sides. Ruby hesitated unsure how to answer. "Where. Is. She?" asked Emma again, stepping slowly closer to the wolf. Ruby remained silent and before she could collect her thoughts Emma's hand was in the air forcing Ruby's feet off the ground, although they were feet away, Ruby could feel Emma's fingers wrapping around her neck. _

"_Em..ma…" she choked out holding her hands to her throat, "… please."_

"_Where is she, Ruby?" Emma spat looking the wolf directly in the eyes. Ruby's mind soared, what is going on? Is Emma possessed? What should I tell her? Her mind reeled as she felt the air slowly leave her body. _

"_She's…" Ruby began clutching at her throat, "… home. We took her… to… her house," she squeezed out before being dropped violently to the ground, Emma's grip releasing her. She coughed on her hands and knees and looked up just in time to see the blonde disappear in a cloud of blue smoke. She takes a moment to catch her breath before running through the door and bolting up the stairs to the loft. _

_She crashes through the door causing Snow and Belle to jump. _

"_We have to get Regina out of here," she says as she moves quickly to the couch where they had placed Regina. _

"_What's going on?" said Belle._

"_Did you find Emma? Inquired Snow. _

"_No time to explain, we gotta get out of here and fast," said Ruby taking Regina into her arms, "Snow you stay here, Belle come with me."_

"_Where are you going?" asked Snow, her eyes full of questions. Ruby sighed and turned around to face her friend. _

"_I'm afraid it might be best I don't tell you," she said looking Snow straight in the eye._

"_Not tell me? I don't understand…"_

"_It's best for now. Trust me," and with a nod from the smaller brunette, Ruby and Belle ran from the loft as quickly as they could. Looking carefully up and down the street, Ruby held Regina closer to her and began running, Belle on her heels. They ran at top speed all the way to Granny's, through the kitchen, and down the stairs until reaching the cellar. Ruby gently placed Regina on the floor, propping her back up on the shelf. They sit back for a moment catching their breath until Belle's phone sounds. _

"_Snow?" says Belle into her phone, "Slow down, Emma what? Where? She… Snow slow down I can't understand what you're saying." Before Belle could hear her answer, the ground shook beneath them causing Belle to scream and drop her phone. Ruby placed her hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. _

"_Emma's here," she murmured as she slowly rose to her feet, "Stay with Regina," she said firmly as she lifted weary eyes to the staircase. _

"_Ruby, what's going on?" said Belle reaching up to grab the woman's hand. Ruby didn't meet her gaze, but gave the woman's hand a warm squeeze before slowly ascending the staircase, breathing deeply. _

…

_Ruby opened the door to Granny's to see Emma standing in the middle of the road, coated in a haze of deep blue- her eyes sharply fixed on the figure coming out of the diner. _

"_You lied to me," she said through gritted teeth, smoke swirling around her hands._

"_Emma, please listen to me," Ruby began taking a few cautious steps towards the blonde, "I don't know what happened earlier, but I can smell dark magic on you. I need you to calm down, I know this isn't you." Emma let out a shrill laugh._

"_You know this isn't me?" she sneered, "How the hell are you even supposed to know me? I'm only the Savior to you. You have no fucking idea who I am."_

"_Emma, please, I'm sorry. Just try to relax and we can figure this out," said Ruby firmly- her eyes darting around Emma's body as the deep blue smoke grew thicker and began wrapping around the blonde's body. _

"_Tell me where Regina is," said the blonde firmly, spitting out the brunette's name. Ruby watched the swirling smoke begin to move faster and faster around Emma's body. _

"_Emma… just try to relax for a minute, please?"_

"_Where is she?"_

"_If you calm down we can talk about this."_

"_WHERE. IS. SHE?" roared Emma, the blue smoke picking up in great, deep waves crashing around the blonde's body, waiting… begging to be unleashed. Ruby's eyes grew wide with fear at the sight, the ground began to tremble._

"_Emma, please! You're not yourself!"At that moment, volumes of dark blue smoke poured out from Emma, encircling the two women in a large dark dome muting all noise. When Ruby uncovered removed her hands from her face she found Emma standing inches away from her. She lifted a hand and grabbed the brunette's jaw in her hand._

"_Who are you to tell me who I am?" she hissed causing Ruby's spine to shiver as she looked into the deep blue clouds swirling in Emma's eyes. Before she could respond, Emma raised her arms causing chunks of the street to break and levitate around her. "Tell me where she is," she said firmly. Ruby took a couple deep inhales, preparing herself for the inevitable fight against one of her best friends. _

"_No," she breathed. Emma's eyes flashed. _

"_I'll give you one last chance, Ruby, tell me where she is," Emma's hands cocked backwards, jumping the pieces of levitating street to attention. _

"_Not like this, Emma. I don't want to do this. I love you," she said trying to reach the blonde who seemed so far away though they stood only feet apart. Emma sneered. _

"_Fine," she said flatly. Thrust her arms forward, the chunks of gravel flew through the air towards Ruby who ducked and rolled out of the way, the pieces smashing inches from her. _

"_Don't do this, Em. Please," she pleaded, but the blonde disregarded her and through more giant rocks in her direction which Ruby dodged with keen reflexes. One after another, more rocks and chunks of street and sidewalk came tearing towards Ruby who weaved in a zig-zag pattern occasionally getting grazed, but for the most part missing the rocks. She tried to keep calm, but a giant piece of gravel slashed across her face knocking her to her back. She hoisted herself from the ground, Emma saw the flash of yellow in Ruby's eyes and grinned. _

_With lightning speed, Ruby launched herself at Emma, tackling her to the ground and delivering a swift punch to the blonde's face before she was catapulted back by a shockwave of Emma's magic. Emma wiped the blood from her lip and spat on the ground. Ruby's heart sank at the slight damage she did to her friend, she didn't want to hurt her- but her own patience was wearing thin. With a flick of her wrists, Emma pulled the ground out from beneath the brunette's feet causing her to land on her back with a loud howl. She jumped to her feet and ran towards Emma, eyes feverishly yellow. Emma spun around creating a whirlwind of rocks and debris and flung her hands out, shooting everything she had at the brunette. Ruby jumped to the left, the right, ducked, and rolled dodging each item with precision until she reached Emma and was able to jab her in the ribs and once more in the face. _

_Dodging Emma's fist, the brunette circled behind her and kicked the back of her knees causing Emma to cry out in pain and fall to the ground. Ruby swooped down and placed the blonde in a head lock. _

"_Don't do this, Em. Please," she pleaded as the blonde struggled against her grip, "You're the daughter of my best friend, the Savior of Storybrooke, and my friend as well. I don't want to hurt you, I love you." Emma let out a harsh screech and struggled harder against Ruby's grip, "Emma, please."_

"_I am no one's Savior!" hissed the blonde. And with a shockwave of energy she blasted Ruby off her. She stood and faced the brunette who now lay on her back a few feet away. "That's just it, you know. None of you even know me. You all just expect me to be this person. The daughter of Snow White, the Savior of Storybrooke, everyone's good old reliable friend, Emma Swan!" she spat, "Nobody even fucking cares about the last twenty eight years, nobody bothers to even know what life was like for me before Storybrooke. And the only person who even bothered is dead, killed by the woman you are protecting! My entire life has been a lie. One big fucking game where I am only a pawn," Ruby shrank back at the anger pulsating from the blonde, "Not anymore. No. This time, I get a say," before the wolf could back away, Emma launched herself in the air with her arms straight up, gathering all the dark blue smoke that had been surrounding them. _

_Her eyes became completely enveloped with dark blue film, the blue smoke formed around her like storming clouds, the earth began to shake and before Ruby had time to react, Emma flung her arms out projecting long streams of blue electricity straight into the brunette. Ruby cried out in pain and begged Emma to stop, but bolts of electricity continued to pump from the blonde's veins cracking and snapping through the air like giant whips. Just when Ruby thought she would pass out, she heard the blonde cry out in pain and the electricity stopped coursing through her body. _

_She glanced up to see Emma on the ground, all the smoke vanished, an arrow piercing her shoulder. "Get up, child," said Granny from behind Ruby, her crossbow in hand. Ruby shuffled across the ground and hid behind Granny, her hands clutching her skirt. Emma grabbed the shaft of the arrow breaking it, then pushed the rest of the arrow through. With a loud cry of pain she flung the pieces to the ground and shakily stood up. Her entire body tingled and quaked. She looked up to see Granny facing her with a crossbow aimed at her head, she then realized half the citizens of Storybrooke were also gathered around. A sudden shockwave of fear pulsed through her body. How had she let this get so out of control? She wanted to run to Ruby and pull her into an embrace, but how could she? Looking around the crowd she saw the fear and pain in their eyes, all directed towards her. She couldn't bear to feel their eyes upon her any longer. Shooting her arms into the air she disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke, leaving behind her hundreds of startled faces who at once began to murmur whispers of a "Dark Savior." _

…_.._

Regina listened to Ruby's story with her head in her hands. Everything had gotten out of control too quickly. She had underestimated Emma's pain, underestimated Zelena's influence, underestimated her relationship with Emma. All of this could have been prevented if she had just…

"So what do we do now?" came Belle's voice. Regina pulled from her thoughts and met the eyes crouched next to her and shook her head at a loss. She looked to Ruby and examined her wounds, grabbing the brunette's hand she squeezed it firmly.

"Thank you, Ruby. For protecting me," she whispered, Ruby nodded her head and returned the gesture.

"What happened to her?" asked the wolf, her voice full of grief and confusion. Regina looked into her watering eyes and then back to her lap, trying to find the right words.

"Emma has undergone a magical shift," Belle let out a small gasp.

"Tell me she hasn't… her magic…" whispered Belle to Regina who nodded. "Oh no, Emma…" tears formed in Belle's eyes. Ruby looked between the two women.

"What? What's happened? What's a magical shift?" Regina flexed her fingers and took a deep breath before turning to Ruby.

"That day in the barn, my magic changed from dark to light," Ruby nodded, "that is what is known as a magical shift. The shift from dark to light occurs when a profound change in soul occurs. Releasing grief, anger, pain, and vengeance and filling that void with love and acceptance is what alters magic. Now, the shift from light to dark…"

"Happens when all that grief, anger, pain, and vengeance remained pent up," finished Ruby. Regina nodded slowly.

"I'm afraid that's what's happened in Emma's case. It could have been prevented, but Zelena's death triggered Emma's anger- and she now has a cause for vengeance." Regina folded her hands together, scraping the dirt away from under her nails. Her sister's dead, Emma's lost. A flood of emotions pushed into her heart, she promptly tried to quell them knowing she had to keep herself together to face the storm.

"Regina," came Belle's voice, "who killed Zelena?" Regina lifted her eyes to Belle, whose eyes suddenly filled with tears knowing what Regina was thinking.

"We don't have any proof," said Regina, "but we found her in her jail cell with her heart torn from her chest," Ruby looked up at Regina, "No, it wasn't me. Emma had run off and I went after her and we were together for a while until we came back to the station and found Zelena dead. Whoever did kill her, likely wanted to frame me for some unknown reason."

"There's only one other person in this town that knows how to tear out hearts," said Ruby casting an apologetic glance towards Belle.

"Rumpelstiltskin," murmured Belle as she suppressed a sob. The three women sat in silence contemplating the next course of action. Regina heaved a sigh and pulled herself shakily to her feet. Slowly moving her hand around her head and down her body, she covered her figure with a soft white light. As the light dissipated, all her cuts and bruises were gone and she stood taller and stronger. She turned to Ruby and waved her hand gently over the brunette healing her as well receiving a grateful nod.

"Now what do we do?" said Ruby looking up at Regina.

"I need to find Emma," she said as she dusted off her clothes and stood tall. At that moment the earth rumbled and there was a loud explosion coming from outside the diner. Heavy footsteps came down the staircase and Granny barged in the door- crossbow in hand.

"She's here."


	7. Chapter 7: Dark Savior

**A/N: Greetings, friends! Not much to preface here, I hope you enjoy the chapter- there's a lot of action.**

**As always, reviews are extremely helpful and encouraging. I'm open to all comments, criticisms, suggestions, and all that jazz. Enjoy!**

As soon as the swirl of blue smoke cleared, Emma dropped to her knees in the middle of the forest. Her entire body convulsed at the rush of magic she had just exerted. Her mind screamed with flashes of what had just transpired. She saw herself engulfed in blue smoke, her hands shooting lightning directly into the body of one of her good friends, she saw the faces of the Storybrooke citizens.

"Oh God…" she whispered as her breath hitched and tears began to pour down her face. Images of Ruby's frightened features and her shrieks of pain echoed in the blonde's ears. She cried louder and beat against her ears trying to drown out the sound. Through the chaos of her brain she heard a familiar sound; a cool, calming voice could be heard high above the noise, whispering words of comfort. She concentrated on the voice and was instantly taken back to a memory from not long ago.

"_You don't owe anyone anything, dearest," said Zelena firmly as Emma sat in a chair on the other side of the bars in the Sheriff's station. _

"_I feel like I need to be the daughter they've always wanted, but I just can't," said the blonde rubbing her hands together in frustration. _

"_My father always wanted me to be perfect," began Zelena catching Emma's attention, "Every morning he'd wake me bright and early demanding his breakfast and shave, if I did anything false- he'd strike me and tell me I owed him my perfection," she snorted as she finished, "I was so desperate for his love, I believed him. I worked hard day and night to become everything he wanted, but it just wasn't me. I could feel it in my bones, and yet he would look at me with those eyes like a master looks at his pet. Always expecting something from me, but I never knew what to give him." She looked up at Emma who sat nodding in silence. "You, like me, have always been forced by others to be a certain way. Everyone has always looked at us as if we're supposed to be something that…"_

"… _we're not," finished Emma. She stood from her chair, ran her fingers through her hair and began pacing, "Each family I went to always had this expectation of me being a quiet, young angel. They'd take one look at my blonde hair and green eyes and automatically assume I was the vision of perfection. But the moment I opened my mouth and started asking questions and talking about my interests, they'd just shut down and the next minute I'm back at the orphanage. After that I just became a meal ticket for different families. And now, now that I have parents that actually want to be around me- they don't even see me for who I am. They project onto me who they want to see: the delicate daughter, the well-mannered, proper, princess of their dreams." She fell to silence and sat back down in the chair putting her head in her hands. _

"_Who do you think you are, Emma?" asked Zelena. The blonde raised her head and looked at Zelena. Nobody ever asked her who she thought she was, nobody had ever asked her what she thought of herself. _

"_I don't know," she responded. _

As the memory faded, Emma found herself on the forest floor surrounded by a disquieting silence. She pulled herself from the ground and sat with her chin on her knees, sorting through the memory. _Who am I?_ she asked herself. A short little laugh echoed from her throat. _What a ridiculous question_, she thought. _I'm Emma, Emma Swan. Sheriff of Storybrooke, ex-bail bondsperson, mother, daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, lost girl, Savior._ She could hear Zelena's laugh in her head as if to tell her that her answer is ridiculous. A soft, sad laugh fell from her lips- _I know, I know, Zelena… that was a stupid answer._ She repositioned herself so her back rested on a tree, closed her eyes and began to think deeply.

Images of her childhood flashed before her eyes: abuse, neglect, loneliness. The images of her teenage and young adult years moved steadily in: depression, anger, hopeless. Images of her life since Storybrooke crept in: confusion, grief, worry, failure.

_I don't know who I am, Zelena_, she thought, _because I never allowed myself to know who I truly am. I let those around me define me as a kid, then I let Neal tell me who I am, then I came to Storybrooke and Henry told me I was the Savior, then everyone else constantly told me who I am supposed to be. _Ruby's bloodied face resurfaced in her memory, _I would never do that to my friend_, she saw herself electrocuting Ruby, _but I did_. Then another memory of Zelena's words came to light.

"_Magic is truth, Emma. It is the only truth that exists in this world. Magic shows you who you are." _

A sharp pain hit her shoulder and she remembered she had just recently pulled an arrow from her body. She rubbed the sore area and calmly tried to recollect some healing techniques Zelena had taught her. As she rubbed her shoulder, she felt her wound slowly shrink until it faded completely. _I shouldn't have taken my rage out on Ruby… she didn't know what's going on, she doesn't know how manipulative Regina is. I need to apologize_. She stood up to leave, but halted for a minute, _I don't know how she'll ever forgive me, but I know now that Emma Swan is strong. No matter what happens, I can handle it. That's who I am. _And with that thought she disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke, reappearing outside of Granny's.

…..

"She's here," said Granny as she entered the cellar with her crossbow. Regina nodded firmly and pushed passed her and began ascending the staircase, attempting to quiet her mind in order to concentrate. She heard Granny's heavy footsteps behind her and hoped the crossbow she had in hand wouldn't be needed.

Reaching the top of the stairs and emerging from the kitchen she found the packed diner coated with an eerie silence as all its occupants sat still, staring at the blonde who stood just inside the door. She saw the blonde's fists clench and her jaw straighten when her eyes fixed with the brunette's.

"I'm here to see Ruby," she said. Granny raised her crossbow, "just to talk, I promise."

Ruby slid from behind Regina, standing tall, her chin thrust forward- eyes blazing. Daring Emma to try attacking her again. "What do you want?" she asked. Emma's eyes darted around the room at all the angry faces directed towards her, then her gaze settled on Regina who had the strangest combination of emotions swirling around her large, brown eyes. Emma felt a twinge of longing in her gut, but pushed it out of the way- now is not the time to confront Regina.

"Can we maybe talk somewhere a bit more…" she looked around the room again, "… private?"

"No," answered Granny cocking her crossbow. Emma slowly nodded her head.

"Look, Rubes, I'm really sorry for what happened, I just…"

"Sorry my ass!" came a voice from inside the diner.

"You nearly obliterated her!"

"Yeah, you basically cooked her alive!"

Emma took a step back at suddenly being confronted with angry jeers from different citizens sitting in the diner.

"Take your dark magic elsewhere, witch!"

"Savior my ass! More like Dark Savior!"

"How could you do that to your friend?!"

"Dark Savior!"

A plate of food came flying across the room and hit the wall next to Emma's head. She jumped back only to dodge the next second as a mug flew at her head. One after the other, the people in the diner started throwing everything at her booing her and shouting "_Dark Savior!"_ at her. Regina, Ruby, and Granny swooped into the crowd pushing people back and chastising crowd. This only made the group become more impassioned, they moved toward Emma, cornering her. Regina sent a shockwave through the diner forcing them to their backs, but they stood back up and continued their pursuits. The shouts from the three women against the growing mob were drowned by the angry jeers towards Emma who was now pressed against the corner of the diner.

Beads of sweat fell from her face, her breathing became heavy, waves of nausea wafted up from her stomach. She looked around at the angry faces of people who had once praised and cheered her name, now they looked at her with immeasurable malice. _Zelena was right_, she thought to herself, _she was the only one who knew me, not these mindless sheep. They don't deserve me_. The crowd continued to scream in her ears, her eyes scanned the crowd for Regina, Ruby, and Granny- but she couldn't see them anywhere. _They don't care about me. They're going to let me die_. Then a shockwave pulsated through the diner knocking the mob off their feet, she knew it was Regina but she still couldn't see her anywhere through the people now stumbling to their feet.

"She did this!"

"Now she wants us dead!"

"She just tried to kill us all!"

"Dark Savior!"

Emma's hands shot to her ears, her mind reeling, she couldn't think, she couldn't feel, she could only hear the angry jeers. _Is this who I am now? Is this who I'm supposed to be?_ As the chaos seeped into her ears, echoing around her head, the angry voices wafting into one loud ringing that buzzed through her body.

"FINE!" she screamed over the crowd, "YOU WANT ME TO BE THE DARK SAVIOR?" She felt her magic boiling at her fingertips as wafts of blue smoke stormed around her body. Her eyes flashed with blue lightning as she scanned the crowd. She saw Regina pushing desperately through the mob to get to her.

"Emma!" cried Regina, "No!" but Emma didn't hear her, all she could hear were the mob's jeers and her own magic brewing.

"Then that's exactly what you're gonna get," she hissed between her teeth and with a flash of light everyone in the diner was propelled backwards. The earth quaked as Emma became completely engulfed in swirling blue smoke that thundered around her body like a violent storm. Regina jumped to her feet and ran towards Emma.

"Emma! Please!" but just as she lunged to grab Emma, the blonde had disappeared in a thunderous cloud of smoke and Regina fell to the floor. A thick silence fell over the diner as everyone sat up and stared at the spot Emma had just occupied. Regina clung to the floor on her hands and knees, as her nails dug into the floor- everything hit her at once. She just watched Emma choose the path she'd never wish on anyone, the path she took long ago in the Enchanted Forest. Hot tears flooded to her eyes as she clawed at the floor. Then a voice from the crowd broke the silence.

"Thank the gods she's gone, told you she's evil!" Regina snapped her head around and jumped to her feet grabbing the source of the voice by the cuff of his shirt.

"Shut the _fuck_ up!" she hissed an inch from his face, "Do you have _any_ idea what you've just done?!"

….

"Regina," said Ruby softly, "Regina," she pressed her hand on the former queen's shoulder making her flinch from her thoughts, "What are you thinking about?" Pressing her hands together and taking a deep breath, Regina cleared her throat- but to no avail. At this particular moment she remained at a complete loss for words. Ruby nodded her head understanding the need for space and stood up from the bench and walked a few paces away.

After Emma disappeared from the diner, Regina had nearly decapitated a few citizens for their cruel behavior. Had it not been for Granny and Ruby using all of their wolf strength to pull her from the diner, the population of Storybrooke would have severely dropped. Belle followed them out the diner where they devised a game plan: Granny would deal with the diner rats while Belle would go to Rumpelstiltskin to subtly collect information while Regina and Ruby would discuss what to do about Emma. The two brunettes now found themselves sitting at the docks watching the cold waves pile onto the pier in a steady rhythm.

Regina inhaled deeply through her nostrils and exhaled heavily through her mouth. Watching the scene that had just unfolded at the diner brought forth memories with a stinging bite, along with a gut wrenching amount of pain seeing Emma experience exactly what she had gone through all those years ago. Wiping a single tear from her cheek, Regina took one last deep inhale and called Ruby over to her.

"You okay?" said the young brunette sitting down next to the former queen.

"No," she said bluntly, "but what's more important is finding Emma. Henry gets back in a couple of days, and who knows what kind of home he's going to return to." Ruby nodded her head slowly.

"Is there any way of getting in touch with them?" Regina simply shook her head.

"Unless…" Regina began biting her lip in thought, her gaze shifted to match Ruby's.

"Me? Regina, no. I can't leave now. Not when Emma is like this, besides, you need my help."

"You're right, I do- but what's more important is keeping Henry away as long as possible. He's already had one mother disappoint him, we cannot let him witness his other mother following the same path," her eyes moved back to the waves, pushing and pulling with the same unyielding rhythm.

"What must I do?" replied Ruby after a brief moment of silence.

"Find them, tell Robin and David about what's happening- Emma will need her father here, so send him back in your stead,"

"What should I tell Henry?"

"You'll think of something," replied Regina blandly, she checked her watch and looked around the docks, "Belle's late." Ruby shifted in her seat and scanned the area with a keen eye.

"Here she comes," said Ruby squinting in the distance. Suddenly her eyes narrowed and her body tensed, "Something's wrong." The two women stood and watched Belle warily as she timidly walked towards them. As she got closer, Ruby gasped and Regina's eyes went up in flames- Belle's left eye was encased with a large, purple bruise, her lip slightly cut and swelled.

"He's gone," she whispered keeping her head down, "Rumpel's gone." Regina gently lifted Belle's chin with two fingers and observed the young woman's face.

"Did he do this to you?" disgust rolled over her lips as she said the words. Belle nodded in reply and in a gesture shocking both Ruby and Belle- Regina pulled the young woman into a tender embrace, holding her with a gentle firmness. Belle melted into her embrace and began to sob as she clenched harder at Regina's jacket. The harder she shuddered, the tighter Regina held on to her- her own familiarity with both parental and spousal abuse pushing actions, though the two younger women knew nothing about it.

After a couple minutes, Belle pulled back slightly- still grasping Regina's hands- and regained her breath. Leading her over to a bench, Regina waved her hand across Belle's face healing her wounds and sat back waiting for the young woman to tell them what happened.

"When I arrived at the shop he was already packing our things," she breathed trying to fight back tears that screamed to be released, "he told me we were leaving Storybrooke. I told him I wouldn't leave and we got in this argument and he… he…" she choked on a few tears and Regina and Ruby wrapped their arms around her. She sniffed and nodded appreciatively before continuing, "when I woke up I was on the ground and he was already gone. I don't know where he went, but I saw he had Bae's old cloak with him, so he might have left Storybrooke." Regina stiffened and shared a glance with Ruby. They both fumed with the thought of him getting away.

"Well," said Regina standing up and straightening her clothes, "here's what we're going to do," she took on an authoritative tone capturing the attention of the two women, "Ruby, you take Belle to the diner, Granny will take care of you- then you find Robin and get David back to town as fast as you can and be sure to keep Henry in the dark as to what's going on. If I'm not back at Granny's by dark, well…" she trailed off moving her gaze back to the waves.

"Regina?" said Ruby standing to her feet and grabbing the former queen's hand. Regina gave it a tight squeeze then removed her hand from the younger woman's and stepped away a couple paces before turning around and facing the women again.

"Take care of Henry," she said and before the two women could say anything, a cloud of smoke engulfed Regina and she disappeared.

…..

"Here to see me off, are you dearie?" came an all-too familiar voice as the smoke cleared from Regina's vision. She stood with her back facing the town line, sitting on the hood of his car in front of her was Rumpelstiltskin.

"Quite the contrary, dear- you're such a vital part to our little fairy tale, it would be a shame for you to cut out early." The older man gave a sly smirk making Regina's stomach boil with rage.

"So, Madame Mayor, tell me- what is my crime?" he twirled his cane in his hands as he spoke before locking his dark eyes on Regina's. "Loitering? Unpaid parking tickets?"

"Cut the crap, Rumpel- you know _exactly_ why I'm here," she hissed.

"I must admit, Madam Mayor, I truly have no idea why you're here," he smirked.

"Why did you do it?"

"I'm afraid, dearie, you'll have to be a bit more specific."

"Zelena. Why did you kill my sister?"

"Ah yes, Zelena. I didn't believe you cared so deeply for her, dearie. Afterall you did take her magic and throw her in jail to rot," he said with a short, sharp chortle, "but you're forgetting one thing, dearie, I didn't kill Zelena… you did."

"Liar. You know I didn't kill her," she hissed.

"Of course not," he laughed, "but that's not what our dear Sheriff thinks now is it?" Regina felt the bile in her stomach start to boil and work its way through her body like venom. Rumpel took note of her stiffening body and smirked, "Yes, our dearest Sheriff Emma Swan- my, my, my what must she think of you now, hmmm?"

"Are you saying you did this simply to turn Emma's magic dark?" growled Regina through clenched teeth.

"No, and quite honestly I could care less about the Sheriff- my target is a bit more close to home. Zelena owed me a debt, and she paid for it with her life. She took my son, I took her life- the fact that it impacted you is icing on the cake, and the Sheriff's sudden shift, well, that's simply the cherry on top," his grin stretched across his face as he draped Bae's cloak over his shoulders and moved to step into his car, "Now if you'd be so kind as to step out of the way, I would hate to be responsible for the death of _all_ Cora's children." Just as he reached for the door handle of his car, Regina flicked her wrist, sending the car flipping backwards onto its back.

"You're not going _anywhere_," she hissed.

"You don't really think you can defeat me, do you? Besides, what would your dear son say if he discovered his mother killed his grandfather? Can't imagine that going over very well," he straightened up and removed Bae's cloak, gently placing it next to him on the ground. Regina held up her hands and planted her feet firmly on the ground- ready to fight.

"Let's end this," she hissed.

"Very well," he laughed.

Regina launched a fireball towards Rumpelstiltskin and he quickly batted it away with his cane as if waving a fly from his face, keeping his smile in tact. Regina conjured another and tossed it more forcefully, testing the waters. Once again, the older man swiped it away- redirecting it to a nearby tree. She conjured one in each hand and sent them both tearing across the air, Rumpel batted one with his cane while reaching out his other hand to catch the second ball and keep it hovering over his hand. "Child's play," he whispered as he stared at the flame before tossing it back at Regina who quickly waved it away.

She suddenly grew conscious that her feet were dangerously close to the town line, although she wouldn't lose her memory, the side affects of crossing the line would distract her from the fight. She began to slowly move away from the line and the two duelers circled around each other keeping eye contact, once her back faced the forest she conjured another fireball and held it steady.

"Another little flame for me to douse. Really, dearie? I know I taught you more than that," smirked the older man. Regina simply smiled back as she brought her other hand to meet the fireball. Stretching her arms out horizontally, the fireball grew into a cylinder until she flung her left arm out causing the fire to grow in a snake like pattern until she held a giant whip made of fire. Without hesitation she began snapping it at Rumpel who blocked the blows with his cane one after the other. Noting a slight hesitation in her footing, Rumpel ceized the opportunity and wrapped the fire whip around his cane flinging it out of Regina's grasp and into the air where it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He then hit the bottom of his cane on the earth causing the ground to ripple out and knock Regina from her feet.

She quickly found her footing and started tossing fireball after fireball towards Rumpel who batted some with his cane while dodging others by shifting his position with surprising agility. But the older man missed one fireball and it grazed the side of his face, he stumbled backwards in surprise as Regina smiled and flung both arms outwards sending two giant columns of fire at the older man. Dropping his cane, Rumpelstiltskin flung two hands in the air and blocked the fiery columns with a thick, black smoke. The pure force of Rumpel's magic caused Regina to dig her feet harder to the ground as it pushed her slowly backwards. Her eyes widened in horror as the man pushed harder, the dark smoke slowly pushed back her fire. She lost balance and fell to the ground, but she kept her hands firmly forward trying to block the constant stream of dark magic enveloping her flames. As the dark smoke neared her hands, images of Daniel, her father, Zelena, Henry, and Emma flashed across her mind. _Emma_.

With a sudden burst of energy, Regina unleashed a giant wave of light sending Rumpelstiltskin flying backwards into the air. Pulse after pulse she shot waves of pure white light towards the man who weakly waved them off with his hands. Jumping to her feet she continued her assault whispering, "Emma," under her breath as she summoned every ounce of power in her until a flash of light hit the older man square in the face and he lay paralyzed. Twirling her finger she summoned a long, silver rope that wrapped around the man's body holding him in place. He squirmed against it trying to free himself.

"_What is this?!" _he spat, fire in his eyes. Regina stood over him breathing heavily, every cell in her body vibrating.

"Light magic, dear," she breathed. He spat blood from his mouth and gave a harsh laugh.

"So," he grunted as he tried to catch his breath, "my fate is in your hands, is it- dearie?" Regina simply smirked as she strolled to his flipped car and pulled his dagger from it. Holding it firmly she moved back to his constricted form and placed a hand on his chest.

"No, dear," she said calmly, "your fate will be in Belle's hands." And with those words she and Rumpelstiltskin vanished in a cloud of smoke.


	8. Chapter 8: Filling the Void

**A/N: Greetings, friends! I hope I find you all well. This chapter is dedicated to our beloved Lana Parrilla (Happy Birthday, dearest!)**

**I would also just like to say that writing this story and interacting with all of you has been a great reprieve. After losing my job and becoming homeless, things have been pretty crazy and interacting with everyone here has been wonderful. So, thank you.**

**Please review, DAHlings. ;)**

Emma knew she was not like other people, never was since birth. Just as one born without an arm or a leg, Emma was forced at a young age to utilize her lack so that she became more effective in a world where she was perceived as limited. Emma used her difference to cultivate a façade, playing a farce and putting on a good show to avoid pitiful looks and unforgiving scorn. From the beginning Emma's hair had been gold and lovely; wide-set green eyes that peered around full with wonder, swooping down to a strong chin and well-shaped mouth- her features were never short of beautiful. Though in physical appearance she never lacked, even as a child Emma had some quality that made people look at her as if she were unidentifiable and foreign.

Moving forward in life, these characteristics followed her to adulthood; however, they manifested in various ways. Though outwardly open and friendly, a slight flick of eyes or pull of shoulders indicated her hesitation to fully commit to unraveling herself, thus, creating an invisible barrier between the real Emma Swan and the world. She was never quick to display her appetites and impulses, she was never one to trigger her emotions or openly flaunt her islands of selfishness and lusts that pooled just beneath the surface. Instead she satisfied her needs by becoming preternaturally alert in many directions of life, while at the same time blinding herself in others.

…

The blue clouds disappeared from view and she fell backwards to the ground. Curling her knees up to her chin she started trying to process what had just happened. _Dark Savior, they called me. What… the… fuck_. She quickly stood to her feet and looked around. She stood in a small field just outside of Zelena's farmhouse on the outskirts of Storybrooke. _Dark Savior_ echoed around her head once again.

"After everything I fucking did for them," hissed Emma out loud, "I've practically been their police force for three years and I perpetually risked _my_ life to save _them_ and what do they do?" she let out a low growl and kicked the ground beneath her feet and started pacing. Her limbs began to tremble, magic started boiling up her body, she had to release it somehow. She started flinging her hands into the air sending bolts of lightning shooting into the skies and into patches of the surrounding fields. _Look at what I did to Ruby, maybe I AM the Dark Savior_. Bolt after bolt after bolt came flying from the blonde's trembling hands as she attempted to block out the angry jeers of the citizens in the diner, then a face flashed across her mind: Regina. The bolts instantly stopped as Emma dropped her arms and furrowed her brow in contemplation.

Regina had been running towards her in the diner, but what for? _Probably going to stop the bad, dark magic with her precious new-found light magic_, scoffed the blonde. _But maybe she… no. No. Zelena was right, I just…_ she kicked the ground once more before turning on her heel and heading for the farmhouse. She found a bottle of whiskey in the kitchen and brought it out to the porch where she sat heavily down on the front steps and began to drink, enjoying the sharp sting of the liquor as it sizzled down her throat. _Fuck_.

….

Reappearing just outside the diner, the smoke had hardly cleared before Regina felt the firm hands of Granny and the soft touches of Belle wrap around her body, holding her up.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she reassured the two women, "help me with _this_," she jabbed towards Rumpel's squirming figure with her thumb. With a surprising display of strength, Granny hoisted the man onto her shoulders and turned around towards the diner.

"I'll shove him in the cellar until we need 'em," she grunted as she stocked away. Belle watched with teary eyes before she felt Regina's comforting touch at her elbow. She felt a cold metallic object slide into her hand and gasped as she looked down at what Regina had given her.

"How… how did you get this?" whispered Belle looking down at the dagger that has long defined the Dark One. Regina lifted her eyebrows and gave a long sigh.

"I wouldn't worry about _how_ I got it, dear, simply on the fact that you have it. Rumpelstiltskin's fate is now in your hands," she said with a small pat to the younger woman's arm before strolling off towards the diner.

Opening the door to the diner, Regina found it completely empty- though she still sensed the anger that had permeated the space not long ago. Settling herself at the bar, she took a deep inhale and waited for Granny to return. When the older woman finally emerged from the cellar, she immediately drew up a large cup of coffee and placed it front of Regina who accepted it graciously.

Residual habits from the Enchanted Forest dictated that Regina uphold a regal manner regardless of how she felt inwardly. Outwardly she remained an image of perfection, though on the inside she longed for a sleeping curse of her own. She rested back into her chair and took long, deep draughts of coffee as if it would fully restore her strength. After a few moments, she put the cup down and allowed her mind to sort through what needed to be done. Rumpelstiltskin is secure for now, Ruby should have reached Robin at this point so David should be back soon, Henry is safe, and Belle now has the Dark One's dagger. Now she just needs to find Emma.

Regina laid her head back, allowing memories to carry her from all thought and time. The summer had progressed and the entire valley began retiring underground awaiting the looming fall. The horses drowsed all day under the willows while the afternoon winds blew inevitably down the valley collecting thick fog in deep pools. Her eyes inspected him, he stood tall- years of manual labor ebbed into every nook and cranny of his form while his feathery chestnut hair and deep blue eyes softened his features. Never had she known someone to understand her so fully, to embrace her with such unconditional affection that it moved her with every brush of skin, every brief glance a treasure, every stolen kiss a precious tome of passion.

Then she came. Lips pursed, eyebrows drawn down in a scowl, her hands eagerly clenching at the folds of Daniel's torso- feeling his strong pulse. Regina recalled the sight of her mother pulling Daniel's heart from his chest and squishing it to dust. That had been a pivotal moment in her life where her conscience stood on the edge of a knife, and then the proceeding revelations from Snow acting as a catalyst to send her toppling over the edge and into a world of self loathing, a world plagued with an unquenchable thirst for unwarranted justice. Though these memories caused her grief, Regina saw to it that they remained in her mind- to act as a reminder of where she came from, and how things could have been; but now she needed them more than ever, so that she may call upon them to help her reach Emma.

Regina knew that ever since her return from New York, Emma's emotions had been turbulent- but the impending crisis of Zelena's curse caused her to stifle them in order to deal with the problems at hand. She had craved the blonde's confidence so intensely, but never allowed her to accept it until it was too late and she had seen Zelena's influence on the young woman. Regina scanned over Emma's behavior from the last few days and scorned herself for not recognizing the similarities between Emma's desperation and her own from the past. And now with her sister's death and the actions of the mindless citizens of Storybrooke, Regina recognized the rage and grief in the Sheriff's eyes as the mirror reflection of her own after Snow's childhood betrayal.

She searched her mind for possible remedies, but no answers manifested themselves. Reaching forward for her coffee, she saw Granny stood before her- with an uncharacteristic wetness in her eyes.

"Thank you," said the older woman. Regina cocked her head in curiosity, but before she could reply the woman clarified, "For healing Ruby." Regina nodded her head slowly. "I've looked after that girl for who knows how many years, and I can't begin to tell you how much it hurt to see her in pain, so thank you." Before Regina could offer a reply to her salutations, Granny stocked back to the kitchen without another word. Then it hit Regina, the answer to the riddle, the one thing her Evil Queen persona had lacked to keep her from slipping over the edge: love. Unconditional love. With another large gulp of coffee and a deep breath, Regina closed her eyes and understood what needed to be done, and with a swirl of smoke she was gone from the diner.

…..

She looked about curiously, somewhat surprised at the location her subconscious brought her to. As she sat back in the diner thinking about Emma she figured she would be transported to the woods or one of the Sheriff's old haunts, instead she found herself standing in a field in front of Zelena's farmhouse on the outskirts of town. _Emma must be hiding here_, she thought- but before she had time to look around, a loud voice shouted at her from across the field.

"Oh _look_," came Emma's voice slightly slurred, "the great and wondrous Savior of Storybrooke has come to defeat the lowly Dark Savior… person," she hiccupped. Regina spun around to see Emma sitting sloppily on the front stairs of the farmhouse, a near empty bottle of whiskey in hand.

"Sheriff Swan, are you drunk?" said Regina attempting to keep her voice as firm as possible, though her heart slowly broke at the sight of the crumbling blonde.

"Why yes, Madam Mayor, yes I am drunk," she stood up and held on to the railing for balance. She wiped her mouth and glared at Regina, her eyes wide and bright. She stumbled off the steps and across the steps until only a few feet separated she and the brunette. Flinging her arms out widely she slurred, "So, if you're here to destroy me, then _do it_." Regina tried to maintain composure and gave a short condescending laugh.

"Oh _please_, Sheriff- had I come here to kill you, you'd already be dead," she smirked towards the blonde who stood facing her with a grim stoicism etched in her face.

"Don't mock me, Regina," replied Emma polishing off the bottle and throwing it on the ground and walking a few paces closer to the brunette, "So why are you here, hmmm?" she slurred.

"To talk. Simply to talk, Emma," said Regina firmly as she slowly raised her hands in a nonthreatening gesture, "And to apologize for what happened in the diner." Emma's face hardened and a slight blue flashed across her eyes. "You know as well as I do that the people of Storybrooke always look for a place to dump their problems, but know that their words are empty."

"Empty?" scoffed Emma, "Empty my ass. They're right, you know. It was only a matter of time. My whole life I've been a fuck up. My whole life has just been building up to this moment right here, this _Dark Savior_ bullshit. This is who I am supposed to be. All of this anger and rage, it makes sense now."

"Please, Emma, you're drunk. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I don't know what I'm talking about? You think you know everything, don't you?" she moved closer until her face was inches away from the brunette's, "you think you can just come in here with all the answers? Because you're Regina Mills, the picture of fucking _perfection_," she spat. Regina's eyes surveyed Emma's features, from this close she could see every new crevice and tear at the woman's skin, the pain reflected from her eyes and shot to Regina's heart. "The worst part about all of this is that I finally know my place in this town. And that's to be the villain. The last hurtle in your great tale of redemption for you to jump over and leave behind. That's all I'm good for. Just a worthless, angry, stupid…" before she could finish her sentence she felt Regina's soft lips clench onto hers.

All anger, regret, grief, and pain seemed to flood from her at that instant- replaced with mind-altering confusion, shock, and joy. She moved her hands to wrap around the brunette's back and held her tighter, deepening the kiss before jolting backward and nearly stumbling over her feet. Backing up a few paces she held a hand to her lips, staring wildly at the brunette standing in front of her.

"The _fuck_ was that?!" she whispered. Her mind couldn't decide if she was elated or infuriated. Regina clenched her fists open and closed, her lips still tingling from the recent contact. She searched for an answer, but could find none. The two women stood staring at each other in silence.

"I don't know what kind of game you're playing at, but you need to leave," said the blonde locking her gaze on the ground beneath her feet.

"Emma," whispered Regina.

"_Leave!"_ Emma spat towards her, a flash of blue crossing her eyes. Regina moved slightly closer, Emma panicked and sent a bolt of lightning towards the woman who quickly deflected it. She didn't mean to use her magic, but the kiss that still warmed her lips sent her mind into a swirling cloud of confusion. Was this another manipulation or was it real? Regina took another step closer and Emma sent another bolt of lightning her way, "_I SAID LEAVE!" _she hollered at the now teary-eyed brunette who only walked closer. Emma sent bolt after bolt flying at Regina, but she deflected them all until she came within an arm's reach and pulled the blonde into an all-encompassing embrace. Emma pushed against the sudden embrace and tried to free herself, but Regina only held on tighter. She began to shutter and without any control, released all inhibitions and began sobbing as she and the brunette slowly dropped to the ground.

"Regina," she sobbed, "Leave… please. Please… I can't… just leave," heaved the blonde into Regina's chest.

"Never," replied the brunette kissing the top of Emma's head, "I will never leave you."


	9. Chapter 9: Crime and Punishment

**A/N: Reeeeeviews? Those would be lovely. Thank you. :) All questions, comments, criticisms, and concerns are appreciated.**

We live in a darkness of our own design; a nightmare born from our deepest fears. Periodically an individual finds his or herself thrust into a complex emotion felt both mentally and physically, a feeling that has come to be best described as, "being lost." Some claim that the moment one feels entirely lost is the moment one realizes the complete lack of control over one's life; however, it may also be perceived as the sudden and harsh awareness of having complete control. This overwhelming sense of self can push an individual to resist action for fear of consequences, causing them to become vulnerable and strive to relinquish all power and responsibility, thus, opening the way for others to dictate the life of the individual in question.

And so you remain- imprisoned in a cell of dashed hopes and unaverted tragedies, allowing others to influence your life for fear that one day you will have to recognize and act upon your personal power, and by doing so you must face the past, and in order to face the past you must face yourself. The most difficult part of the journey is recognizing that which scares us most is that which is most familiar- and to choose to accept the fear, to understand that fear- and to embrace that you are in control of your destiny.

….

"Drink," said Regina placing a large mug of hot coffee on the table in front of the Sheriff before sliding into a chair across from the blonde. They sat in the silent kitchen within Zelena's abandoned farmhouse. Its disquieting aura gave it an almost mausoleum-like feel, especially given the recent passing of the former occupant.

Emma sat hunched over the table, hands pressed to her head, dry red eyes drooped downwards from exhaustion. She could not recall the last time she had cried so fiercely; she found herself immensely embarrassed by such an outward display of emotions, let alone having Regina Mills be the recipient. Keeping her eyes cast downwards, she reached a shaky hand for the mug of coffee and slowly brought it to her lips. There was absolutely _no_ way should could deal with this situation right now.

Emma had always tried to remain honest with herself. Gaining a stable recognition of her own thought patterns and being able to pick up on her own emotional triggers always allowed her to quickly analyze situations and she was never own to sugar coat anything, not even to herself. The only time her system of thought failed was around Regina Mills. _Regina _fucking _Mills_, thought Emma as she took a large gulp of coffee not even expressing interest in the _real_ Regina Mills sitting silently across the table from her.

Ever since they first met, Regina Mills made the millions of butterflies in Emma's stomach wake up and sing while at the same time knocking over the nest of hornets that also resided in her stomach. She couldn't read Regina, she couldn't figure her out, and now she was coming to the slow realization that perhaps she has been lying to herself about Regina. She could never really understand her in the first place, so perhaps her system failed, thus, allowing others to construct her perception of Regina for her. _This_ Regina, this particular Regina sitting across the table from her, _always_ came back. This Regina always stayed, this Regina had kissed her… but why?

Emma didn't realize her gaze had shifted to staring at Regina until the brunette broke their eye contact and gave a little cough. She quickly pushed her gaze back to the table top.

Regina Mills is patient. She knows that when Emma is ready to speak, she will- but for now Regina knows her task remains to simply be present. Though she certainly didn't mind having to spend so much time with Emma, she wished it were under different circumstances. For both Henry and Emma's sake, she remained determined to remove Emma from her current path.

She watched the blonde across from her with downcast eyes- noticing each little flick and twitch in her fingers and face as she slowly sipped her coffee. Regina's eyes surveyed Emma's strong, beautiful facial features- she mourned as she saw familiar lines of anguish tugging around the blonde's mouth and eyes.

At an early age, Regina found she was able to easily get in the minds of others. She could observe their behaviors and predict their train of thought. That is why she often remained ten steps in front of others when they dared cross her. There wasn't ever a person in all the realms that had consistently foiled her little talent- except for Emma Swan. That is what was initially so intriguing about the woman. She couldn't read her even when having the most basic of conversations where a mere simpleton could anticipate the response. But now she found herself cursing her inability to read the blonde.

She had kissed her. She had kissed Emma Swan. She subtly licked her lips remembering how it had been filled with such sweet longing, such unfulfilled belonging- it both saddened her and exhilarated her. What she knew was that she had kissed Emma, but had she kissed her back? She believed so, but she wasn't sure if she simply imagined it out of her own desire. As she gazed across the table at the nearly shattered woman, she understood that she simply wanted to show the Sheriff who she really is and who Regina Mills really is. _Could this wonderful and frustrating woman really not know how simply remarkable she is, _thought Regina, _could she really have gotten to such a level of depression that she allowed others to define her?_ It seemed wholly impossible for someone like Emma Swan to allow others to tell her who she is, but then again- it was also incredibly unlike Emma Swan to seriously injure anyone, let alone her friends. Her thoughts were interrupted by the blonde clearing her throat. Emma raised her head a little and looked directly at Regina.

"So," she began softly, "since I'm a villain now, does this mean I have to start wearing leather?" There was a brief moment of silence before both women slid into comfortable laughter, which quickly escalated to fits of laughter. All of the tension, stress, and emotional turbulence from the recent days had boiled up and with one, bad Swan-joke, was quickly released with a flood of laughter. Emma's head fell back as she grabbed her gut and roared with laughter while Regina clutched her sides trying to stop her body from shaking as tears poured down her face.

As the laughter slowly receded, they drifted back into stillness before Emma broke the silence.

"What the hell am I going to do?" she whispered, her eyes now void of the light that had just been present a moment ago, "Oh my god, Henry. What am I going to tell Henry?" her voice became more panicked as she started mumbling incoherently, Regina reached a strong hand across the table and gripped Emma's wrist. She relaxed at the touch.

"Just breathe," said Regina calmly as she fixed her gaze with the Savior's. Emma nodded her head and took a few deep inhales, "We'll figure this out… together."

"Why?" asked Emma with a threatening tone. She may have spent the last couple hours sobbing and giving in to Regina's embrace, but she couldn't help but feel like Regina had ulterior motives for helping her. The kiss, taking care of her, what did it all mean? What game was Regina trying to play with her? Regina shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"I'm afraid, Miss Swan, you're going to have to be a bit more specific," stated the brunette crossing her arms. Emma sighed, she knew Regina knew what she was asking, but didn't understand why the woman always had to make things so difficult.

"Why do you want to help me?"

"Well, you are Henry's birth mother, you're the Sheriff of this town, and the practice of dark magic is a long and lonely path to travel down."

"What if it's the only path there is?" said the blonde. Her tone suddenly shifted from abrasive to desperate. Regina sat up in her seat and rested her elbows on the table, pressing her lips to her coffee mug, choosing her words carefully.

"I think you can trust in my opinion that there are always other paths. We each have a destination laid out before us, and that, cannot be changed simply overnight, but we do have the ability to change the direction overnight," she paused and took a long sip from her mug. Emma furrowed her brows, contemplating Regina's words.

"That may be true," started the Savior after a long pause, "but I don't know if you're the right person to help me." One of Regina's eyebrows shot up.

"_I_ may not be the right person?" she said completely baffled, "I'm sorry, but have you been completely absent the last few years?" Emma shook her head and drank her coffee, Regina's misunderstanding her again- she interrupted before the brunette could get too carried away unnecessarily defending her rather long list of qualifications.

"Regina," said Emma sternly, capturing the former queen's attention, "believe me when I say that it's not because you aren't qualified. You out of almost everyone in this town knows what I'm going through, but I simply can't do this with you. Honestly, I'm having a hard enough time keeping myself from lunging across this table and beating the shit out of you. I appreciate what you did for me earlier, truly I do, but I am finding it hard to be around you after what you did." Regina's brows furrowed, not believing what she just heard.

"What are you talking about?" she whispered. Emma rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair.

"Seriously?" she said hoping the brunette was joking. When she saw the look of confusion cross Regina's face, she through up her hands and stood up, "You just _barely_ killed the only friend I had left in this town, the only person who has ever truly understood me, the same person who also happens to be your _sister_." Regina felt anger boil in her stomach, she quickly rose to her feet to meet the blonde.

"Would you honestly believe that I would kill my own sister?"

"I don't know, you killed your father," the words fell from her lips with half-felt regret. She knew it was a low blow, but she also wanted to make Regina suffer.

"Don't you even _dare_ talk about that," she hissed pointing a warning finger in Emma's direction, but the blonde only pushed more.

"Why? You too much of a coward to accept the awful things that you've done?" she moved even closer so their faces were only a couple inches away. She could practically feel Regina's anger pouring from her body, but she continued her vicious assault, "Is this your plan the whole time? Drop your family members off like flies for your own selfish purposes and then claim ignorance just to gain sympathy?" She had Regina backed against the wall at this point. She couldn't understand why the other woman hadn't blasted her across the room yet, and then only egged Emma on. She hated what she was doing, but she couldn't help but take all the anger and pain inside her and push it onto someone else. "Ever since I came to town and you saw how Henry loved me, you wanted to be the Savior, am I right? You wanted to be that person. You wanted to replace me, even if it was at the expense of every last member of your family…" before she could even finish her sentence, Regina's sharp hand struck across her cheek causing her to stumble backwards.

They stood in silence- Emma holding her hand to her stinging cheek and Regina standing completely paralyzed, tears running down her face. In this moment, Emma realized it wasn't Regina she wanted to suffer, she wanted herself to suffer. With that brief act of physical pain, she felt redemption ebbing to the surface. She deserved this. She looked up to see Regina storming out the door and she quickly pursued, she wasn't finished.

Regina was halfway across the field before Emma shot a lightning bolt just next to the brunette making her stop. "We're not finished!" she shouted as she stormed closer until just feet from the brunette.

"If you're just going to stand there and yell at me about things you can't even _begin_ to understand then, yes, I think we are finished here." She turned to leave, but Emma flicked her wrist forcing Regina to turn and face her.

"Don't turn your back on me," hissed the blonde, clouds of blue forming in her eyes. Regina's eyes narrowed, she could feel her anger course through her veins, but she couldn't let Emma have this. The blonde's full of too much anger and pain to be reached through rational thought, and Regina knew she had to leave before she let her own anger sway her judgment.

"Fight me," hissed Emma flexing the muscles in her hands.

"No," scoffed Regina. She turned to leave, but a searing hot pain hit her foot. She looked down and noticed Emma had shot a lightning bolt at her feet. Looking up in horror she saw the pain and desperation hidden behind the blonde's eyes.

"Fight. Me," repeated Emma slowly through clenched teeth. When Regina didn't move, she shot a lightning bolt directly towards her chest knowing Regina would easily deflect it, but what she wasn't expecting was Regina to not hurl a fireball right back at her. Instead, she remained grounded.

Images of Ruby curled in pain and the angry citizens in the diner flashed through her mind before she launched another lightning bolt towards Regina, daring her to retaliate. Bolt after bolt, Regina simply redirected them without fighting back- causing the blonde's anger and desperation to rise. She pushed both arms forward and shot out two incredible columns of blue lightning, Regina quickly flew up her own hands to counter them with her own columns of fire. Pushing with all her might, the blonde waited until Regina began to push back to fling up her arms and allow the columns of fire to blow over her face. The sheer force of the fire caused her to stumble back, Regina stood horrified as she saw a slight upward curve at the blonde's lips as she struggled to stand.

Emboldened by Regina's attack, Emma launched herself forward and shot bolt after bolt after bolt of brilliant hot lightning towards the brunette, begging to be answered with fire. Regina realized what Emma was doing and concentrated on redirecting each bolt.

"Fucking _fight_ me, Regina!" screamed the blonde in irritation cutting off her attack.

"No," replied Regina fully committed to her convictions. The resilience in Regina's voice made Emma's blood boil. She flexed her fingers, coaxing the magic that hung there to collect in order to form her next attack. She locked her eyes on Regina's and flung her arms forward with as much force as she could muster. Two spiraling columns of blue lightning shot from her hands heading straight for the brunette, but before they could reach her, a small figure jumped between the two women and consumed the entirety of the blow.

"HENRY!" screamed Regina as she watched her son absorb the shock of his blonde mother's power and crumble to the ground unconscious.


	10. Chapter 10: Moving Forward

**A/N: Greetings friends,**

I know that last chapter projected hardly any warm fuzzies. I had an idea of where I wanted to go, but some unfortunate circumstances in my own life caused me to change what I was writing- so I'm sorry I haven't been able to give you much breathing room. Just remember the night is always darkest before the dawn. This chapter is also going to be a bit shorter than previous chapters, but another update should come along soon.

**Thank you so much for reading and please feel free to review. Even if it's anything like, "cool, you suck, good job, this story is Scheisse," hearing back from people is always helpful for motivation. **

**Post Script: I would like to thank Giacomo Puccini for writing Madama Butterfly. Thanks for ripping my heart out and crushing it in my face, ya operatic asshole of the gods.**

A strange whistling noise howled through her ears as she stood paralyzed. She watched Regina run to Henry's side, hoist him into her arms, and start moving as fast as she could towards the farmhouse. It was like it had all happened in slow motion. Replaying the scene over and over in her mind she didn't even notice the group of people approaching her until a pair of large hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into an embrace.

"Emma!" came her father's voice as he wrapped his arms around her. He pulled back keeping his hands on her shoulders and surveyed his daughter, "Are you okay? Where's Henry? Where's Regina? What happened?" Emma remained silent and looked around to see Ruby and Robin standing nearby with anxious looks. Ruby moved in closer and placed a gentle hand on Emma's shoulder making her flinch.

"Em?" she whispered, "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I killed him," she croaked- her voice like a rusty squeeze box. Ruby's hand flew from Emma's shoulder and covered her mouth while David gently cupped Emma's face forcing her to look in his eyes.

"Who?" he asked nervously as he searched his daughter's eyes. Emma looked into her father's eyes and it was too much to bear. Her face contorted and she fell to her knees, sobbing. David couldn't believe what was happening, and in that moment chose not to. He knelt besides his daughter and wrapped his arms around her while Robin and Ruby took off for the farmhouse. Charming sat on the field holding his shuddering daughter and tried to remain as optimistic as possible, but from what Ruby's told him- he wasn't sure even he could find the hope in the situation if what Emma says happened actually occurred. He began to think the worse before Ruby came running out of the house and crouched next to David and Emma.

"He's okay," she breathed with an encouraging smile, "He's alive, Emma." The blonde's head snapped to look at Ruby and then the farmhouse. Before any more could be said, she jumped to her feet and ran towards the house, the others on her heels. She ran through the door and around a corner where she saw Robin standing outside of a door at the end of the hallway. She moved to push by him and enter the room, but he held her back and pointed at the crack under the door. A glow of silvery light gleamed from under the crack of the door moving up and down in waves. The group paced outside the door, waiting for Regina to emerge. After a few minutes, the light stopped and the door clicked open.

Regina opened the door and stepped out looking completely spent. She looked around the room at the people standing around her, her eyes dwelling for a sharp second on Emma. "He's fine," she said allowing everyone to exhale loudly with relief. "But he needs a lot of rest, so I'd appreciate it if everyone left for a while," they each nodded and slowly began to file down the hallway, "Except you," said Regina- her voice suddenly sharper. David turned around and saw Regina staring at Emma, cold flames licking her pupils as the blonde stood before her, head bowed. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was safe to leave them alone- but his gut told him everything would be all right. So he turned on his heel and followed Robin and Ruby out of the farmhouse.

When they heard the front door click, Emma turned to Regina- uncertain as to what to say.

"Regina…" but before she could say anymore, the brunette grabbed her fiercely and pushed her against the wall, pressing her shoulder hard into the wall with one hand and holding the blonde's face in a tight grip with the other.

"I am _sick_ of your shit, Emma," she said fiercely, "When are you going to learn that all actions have consequences? It's one thing to cause harm to yourself, or even me, but quite another when your actions start impacting our son," her grip on Emma's face tightened, her fingers sinking into the blonde's cheeks as she held her head steady so their eyes met evenly, but the blonde's eyes drifted away, "Look at me," Regina said firmly, "_Look at me, Emma_," the blonde's eyes snapped up, "I did _not_ kill my sister, it was Rumpelstiltskin," Emma flinched, "Emma, I did not kill my sister- and I'm not going to kill you. I'm not even going to hurt you. The path you are on right now is lonely and dangerous. You are a _mother_, what you do and say will impact your child. So if you don't want to recognize the darkness you are allowing into your life and let me help you fix it, then you are not only going to ruin your life, but Henry's as well. He _loves_ you, do you hear me? Our son _loves_ you. So if you wont let me help you for yourself, then let me help you for Henry's sake. Do you understand?" She waited for the blonde to slowly nod her head before releasing her and taking a couple steps back while Emma raised her hands to her cheeks and rubbed the sore spots from Regina's fingers.

"Can… can I see him?" asked Emma shifting her eyes toward the door to Henry's temporary room.

"No," said Regina flatly, "He's asleep. It took a while for me to heal him and it exhausted his body so he'll be out for a few hours. Besides, I expect we have a few things to discuss."

"Yeah," said the blonde unenthusiastically.

"Follow me," said Regina turning around and walking towards the kitchen. Emma looked back at Henry's closed door before following Regina down the hallway.

….

"So, where do we start?" asked the blonde thumbing her mug of fresh coffee. A long sigh came from the brunette seated at the opposite side of the table.

"At the beginning, I suppose," muttered Regina. Emma gave a short laugh.

"Oh man," she said running her fingers through her hair, "When even _is_ the beginning? This whole thing has gotten so big and complicated I don't even know where to start," she took a long drink of coffee and stared out the window. Regina sat back and sipped her own coffee, she knew Emma would speak when she was ready.

"This last year in New York was like a dream," sighed the blonde- her eyes fixed on the window, "A really, really good dream. Sure I still had the memories of my childhood and young adult life, but other than that everything was just so- simple. No magic, no curses, no constant threat of impending doom," she laughed a little, " One day I was just a mom with a job, going to boring PTA meetings, signing field trip forms, and parent-teacher conferences. The next I'm a Savior of an ungrateful town, the daughter of the most famous couple in fairy tale history, and surrounded by magic," she ran her hand through her hair and took a long swig of coffee.

"I get back to Storybrooke and there's another curse, my mom's pregnant, and there's a wicked witch turning dwarves and merry men into flying monkeys," she let out another small laugh with a hint of sadness, "Everyone kept telling me that I had to fix everything because I'm the Savior, but when I look back at it… I didn't fix _anything_," she paused and shifted her gaze from the window to look straight at the brunette, "you did," Regina raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You're the one that broke the curse, not me," Emma answered with a hint of jealousy, "With Henry. So, I suppose I _did_ need to come back so Henry could be here. Just had to be the delivery girl for everyone else's happy endings, I guess."

"You can't be serious," said Regina shaking her head and looking at Emma in disbelief, "Is this _really_ what you've been thinking the entire time?" When Emma replied simply by returning her gaze to the window and sipping her coffee, Regina sat up in her seat gaining the blonde's attention, "How can you not see the love that's all around you? Henry loves you, your parents love you, even that dim-witted pirate loves you- and you sit here thinking nobody _needs_ you?" Regina sat back completely baffled by the blonde's blindness, "You truly don't realize what you have, do you? There was a time I would have _begged_ to have even half as many people that love you feel the same way about me, but when I needed it the most- I had _nothing_. And here you are journeying down that same path I took years ago, completely disregarding all the love you have in your life. And Emma, I care about you too much to watch you do this to yourself."

Her mouth snapped shut. She had meant every word, but didn't mean to say the last part out loud- not yet, at least. Sipping her coffee, she picked off some imaginary lint from her sleeves hoping to seem like what she said was completely natural given their relationship. It wasn't. And Emma caught it.

_Did she just say… no…_ thought Emma as she eyed the brunette. She eyed Regina, noticing her nervous mannerisms as she failed to play off her word-slip casually.

"Did you just…"

"No," said the brunette all too abruptly, "I simply meant to express that you are Henry's biological mother, thus, your well-being has some degree of emotional significance to a shared party," Emma continued to eye her suspiciously, "Yes, Miss Swan, I care for your well-being," she exclaimed. Emma couldn't suppress the slight smile that tugged at her lips.

"So, you…"

"I need a break," said the brunette sharply. She rose to her feet and took her coffee out to the porch leaving Emma sitting in the kitchen.

_Regina Fucking Mills_, she thought to herself as she watched the brunette saunter out the door with her trademark sway. Emma sat back in her chair and contemplated Regina's words- aside from the shocking post-script, Regina's words were incredibly difficult to swallow. Mulling the facts of her in her brain, Emma started to recall all of the swift smiles, loving gazes, kind words, genuine laughs, and heart-warming embraces she has encountered since her return to Storybrooke. Perhaps Regina is right and she hadn't given her family enough credit.

Emma knew she was always too quick to push people away, and the people she ended up shoving from her life always seemed to be the people who wanted to get the closest to her. Henry, her parents, her friends- none of them looked at her like she was some kind of foreign material or unsolvable case. The looks in their eyes were always of genuine curiosity and excitement to simply be in her presence. Perhaps Regina is right after all, she _does_ have people in this town that love her… but how are they ever going to forgive her for what she's done?

_Then there's Regina…_ she thought as she stole a quick glance out to the porch.


	11. Chapter 11: Invictus

**A/N: Greetings, friends! **

**I hope this chapter will make up for the previous being shorter than usual. This one's extremely dialogue-heavy. I spent the evening writing it at a café in the middle of a big park, and given that I live in the Deep South- I was eaten alive by mosquitoes… worth it.  
**

**I was asked what I listen to while I write, it's a big mixture of things- but this chapter was written to a combination of Mozart's Symphony 41 (Jupiter), the soundtrack to Aquarela do Brasil, Leadbelly, Kurt Weill, and the Battlestar Galactica Soundtrack. Weird mix, I know- but it worked. **

**Shout out to SwanQueenIsTrueLove, Evil Targaryen, noly69, Baccan, and Diana. for your kind words. My hat's off to you, friends. **

**Thank you all for reading, and please review. I love hearing from you. **

…**.**

After a few minutes, Regina collected herself and returned to the kitchen. She poured herself and Emma another cup of coffee and took her place at the end of the table opposite Emma whose face resumed a conflicted pallor.

"Zelena told me something interesting about my magic," Emma began capturing Regina's undivided attention, "She said that for each individual, there is one particular emotion he or she falls back on to perform magic because each person has a singular emotion that dominates their emotional state of being," Regina nodded silently as she listened, "Is that true?"

"Well, yes," said Regina like it was obvious. She found it curious that of all the topics the two women have to discuss, Emma went for a practical lesson in magic theory, "Each individual has a specific emotion that stands out above the rest," she said looking into Emma's green eyes trying to figure out why should would ask such a question. The blonde's eyes turned sad at her words and her gaze fell to the floor.

"I guess she's right then," said Emma resting her chin on her hand.

"Who's right about what?" asked Regina.

"Zelena," Emma said shifting her gaze back to Regina, not quite wanting to look directly into her eyes, "She said my dominate emotion is anger, and now that I've had time to think about it- she's right. I just… I just don't want to feel _angry_ all the time," she buried her face in her hand trying to hide the single tear that swept down her cheek. Regina noticed it and felt her heart ache for the woman across the table.

"Emma," she said, "anger may be one of your strongest emotions, but what else is?" The blonde raised her head and furrowed her brow at the brunette.

"I don't know… sadness? Annoyance? Vengeance?" the brunette simply shook her head as her heart ached a little more as she realized the supreme lack of self-worth the blonde possessed.

"No, Emma," she said shaking her head, her tone non-condescending to the blonde's relief, "Theories of the balance of dualism transcend the borders of realms, it exists in every little iota of universal creation whether magical or non-magical. In this realm there is yin yang, or a concept of the western world of this realm known as good and evil. There exists also Mind-body dualism, predicate, property, and substance dualism- interactionism, epiphenomenalism, parallelism…."

"Regina," said the blonde flatly, the brunette looked up and realized she had gotten a little carried away. She gave a slight smile, cheeks flushing slightly and continued.

"Essentially, these balanced forces follow what this world would refer to as Newton's Third Law of Motion…"

"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction," stated the blonde causing Regina's mouth to curve slightly upward.

"Exactly. Magic exists and functions in a similar fashion. The most prominent display of duality in magic is Light and Dark magic, both operating on an action to create an equal and opposite reaction. Since magic flows from emotions, may it not also be possible to suggest that there are both equal and opposite emotions?" Emma eyed her curiously, she wanted her to get to the point- but noticed that Regina was probably not asked questions about her favorite subject too often, so she indulged her. Regina took a large sip of coffee and continued.

"Light magic feeds from what standard society deems as 'positive' emotions, while Dark magic feeds from so called 'negative' emotions. Although I see emotions existing on the same scale, balancing each other out, thus, leading me to the conclusion that to insinuate that one emotion is _better_ and another emotion _lesser_ is something I disagree with entirely. You cannot have one without the other. Like yin yang and good and evil, both Light and Dark magic exist within each living creature- the important concept to focus on is which path we allow ourselves to take."

"So, if Light and Dark magic exist inside everyone… how do you switch? I mean, how did you switch from Dark to Light and I switch to… to…" she hesitated to say the words out loud. Noticing this, Regina took the pressure off and answered.

"In my case, I was not born from True Love- which means I was not naturally inclined one way or the other," she saw Emma open her mouth and she held up a hand, "I'll get to that in a minute," she said with a smile. Emma sat back and rested her chin in her hands concentrating on Regina. Her sudden change of Dark to Light had been something she always wanted to inquire about, but for some reason the brunette always seemed hesitant to discuss it- or she simply didn't give Regina the time to. She shook her head and fixed her eyes on Regina, "Like I was saying, I was not naturally inclined to practice one or the other, but with all the circumstances of my life in the Enchanted Forest and since my tutor was the Dark One, I used Dark magic."

"He taught me to channel my pain and use it as strength, it had never occurred to me that I could channel anything other than pain to perform magic, at least, not until I thought it was too late. My main power-emotion for Dark magic was my grief," her breath hitched for a moment and Emma saw her history flash across her eyes.

In that moment, Emma realized she had never discussed Regina's past in depth with her. She had made a few conclusions based on what she knew- abusive mother, murder of her True Love, marriage to an old king as a teenager, forced to look after someone she believed responsible for her misery. She had concluded that Regina had a difficult upbringing, but it wasn't too difficult to tell… for if you actually took the time to look at the former queen, you could see her pain and misery etched into her face. A kind of deep sadness hovering over the skin suggesting years of unhappiness carved into her very bones. Emma knew it well, for she too was marked by fate's cruel knife.

"Initially I used my grief-fueled magic to get rid of my mother. I enlisted Rumpelstiltskin's help to remove her from my life permanently- but the euphoria I felt after performing magic was deceptive. Using magic always gives the user a feeling of euphoria, which makes discerning the feeling of Light versus Dark magic rather difficult. In any case, I thought I was healing myself through using my grief to perform magic until I began to slowly dwindle. It was as if I watched myself from outside my body until one day, when I heard the people start to call me The Evil Queen, I was so overcome with pain and simply too tired that I decided to embrace the people's idea of me. After that, living my life didn't feel real at all- it felt like I was playing a character in some bizarre play. Every word from my mouth, every motion of my body seemed like it wasn't my own- it was strange, foreign, and it was easy."

Emma's ears perked up at the mention of Regina calling the path she had taken, "easy." As she listened to Regina's tale, she couldn't help but slowly draw parallels to her own, and in this moment, she felt complete solidarity with Regina. In this moment she knew Zelena had been wrong… she doesn't hate Regina… she can't hate Regina.

"It was easy to simply give up on creating a life of my own, it was easy to fill my life with thoughts of revenge. It kept me from confronting my past, therefore confronting myself. I still hurt for Daniel, but I soiled his memory by concentrating on what we _could_ have had instead of what we had…" her voice trailed off with a quiver. Emma saw the tears forming in Regina's eyes and reached her hand across the table and held Regina's hand, giving it a small squeeze. She knew opening up was no easy task for the former Evil Queen, and she knew that Regina must really care for her if she's willing to share these personal memories.

Just as she felt her insides sinking to the ground, Regina felt a strong hand grab hers. Warmth shot from her hand and up her arm, filling every cavity of her body with such endearment she found it difficult to hold her tears. She would have time to cry, but now she had to tell Emma what she needed to hear. She gave the blonde an appreciative smile, and while still holding the blonde's hand- continued her story.

"As you know, I saw Rumpel's curse as my liberation, my chance at happiness while destroying the happiness of everyone I had come to loathe. Though this world had no magic then I didn't use grief to channel magic, instead I used my grief to channel all of my actions expecting the same resulting euphoria. After a few years, I realized it was not my happy ending- there was still a void, and that's when I adopted Henry," her voice quivered slightly as she said Henry's name causing Emma to send another warm squeeze to the brunette's hand, "Henry made me feel happiness, true… happiness, for the first time in _decades_. The longing to be _needed_ by someone cured me from my perpetual lust for vengeance. Most of the time I would completely forget that we were cursed, he changed my whole world," she paused for a moment and looked out the window, remembering every minute of those ten beautiful years she and Henry had spent together- she allowed a couple tears to fall, quickly wiped them and then turned back to Emma.

"And then this _annoying_ blonde came to town in this _infernal_ yellow bug," she said with a short laugh, causing Emma's face to brighten and laugh remembering the first time they met. Regina laughed a little more, wiped a couple tears, and stood up to make another pot of coffee. She was reluctant to let go of Emma's hand, but if she was being honest with herself, she was getting a little overwhelmed. _Steady steps, Regina_ she repeated in her mind as she filled the kettle with water.

"Anyway, after you came to town- I, naturally, felt worried that this strange woman would take my happy ending away. And as Henry started treating me more and more like the Evil Queen in that _ridiculously_ inaccurate book of his, I felt my dependence on grief start to reemerge, and with new conviction since Henry seemed to be slowly creeping to my list of lost loved ones," she placed the kettle on the stove and turned around with her arms folded and leaned against the counter.

Emma's hands were covering her eyes, her head slightly bowed. She rubbed her temples, slid her hands through her hair and looked up at Regina. Her eyes looked raw like they were currently battling to keep tears at bay.

"Regina, I…" she began, but realized she couldn't find the right words, "I am so, so sorry. When I first got here, I wasn't even… I can't believe I… jesus I am just _so_ sorry," she looked up at the brunette with pleading eyes.

"Please, dear, don't beat yourself up over it," Regina said with a slight smile to assure Emma that no harm had been done. Regina internally laughed thinking how satisfied she would have been hearing Emma's apology a few years ago, but now it filled her with sadness to see the blonde in pain, "You were suddenly thrust into a bizarre small town by a small boy who claimed to be your son who fed you an overwhelmingly amount of talk about curses, Evil Queens, and Fairy tales. And I wasn't exactly the best welcome wagon," she pressed her lips together with a small laugh, mirrored by Emma.

"Thank you, Regina," said Emma with a small blush. The kettle screamed and steamed, Regina returned to preparing the coffee. When finished, she filled both her and Emma's mugs and resumed her seat at the table.

"Anyway, to avoid recounting every detail from the last few years- we'll jump to the event you originally asked about: my magic switching from Dark to Light," she took a deep breath and sipped her coffee, "Breaking the second curse with True Love's kiss was something I _never_ believed I was capable of. But once it happened, it was like I _knew_ that my love for Henry was real and I _knew_ that his love for me was real. And as Zelena had me in her grip in the barn, my thoughts lingered to Henry- visions of our life together, thoughts and musings about our future life together…" she trailed off in thought, purposefully omitting that she had thought of Emma as well during that crucial time, "… I realized that Henry was my happy ending, being with him and knowing he wanted to be with me filled me with such sweet delight that _all_ of that grief, anger, and vengeance just poured out of my body and was replaced with a swirling warmth of true joy. I had found, and experienced, my Light magic power-emotion," she paused and Emma looked at her absolutely captivated by the beautiful glow that seemed to emanate from every pore on Regina's body, "and my Light magic power-emotion was, naturally, the opposite of the grief I had been using for so long…" she paused again and looked up with Emma, her eyes practically radiating with light, "… happiness," she said sweetly as a tear escaped her eye, "It was in that moment that I realized that _I_ control my happiness, _I_ create my own destiny," Regina's radiant smile permeated the room as it spread across her face, Emma's own smile spread as well, not even noticing the soft tears trickling down her face.

…..

The two women sat in silence, bathing in the flood of emotions that filled the room. Regina resumed her attention to her coffee while Emma reverted to a state of deep contemplation. Regina's story had moved her tremendously, she had never really put much thought into the idea that the former queen was a human of complex human emotions. The mayor she had always been exposed to seemed to operate in strictly black and white- now she realized the mayor was another one of Regina's 'characters,' and she had played it extremely well. During her second year in Storybrooke, Emma had started to grasp at different elements of Regina- learning how to communicate with the former Evil Queen and slowly figuring out how she functioned. But as Emma sat across from Regina at the table, she realized that everything she thought she knew about Regina- even after Neverland, was only skimming the surface. Suddenly she remembered something, and it reminded her of Regina, she whispered the words and didn't realize she had said them loud enough for the brunette to hear.

"What was that, dear?" asked Regina pressing the coffee to her lips.

"Oh, um… just this line from a poem I've had memorized since I was a teenager," she hid her face with her mug, but knew Regina was staring at her, "What you were just talking about reminded me of it."

"Would you want to share it with me?" asked Regina somewhat surprised that Emma was the type to memorize poetry. She smiled internally at the thought of all the other surprising discoveries Emma has buried in her.

"Oh, um, okay… I haven't said it for a while so… yeah… here it goes…" She cleared her throat and began reciting the poem with her eyes closed:

_Out of the night that covers me,  
Black as the pit from pole to pole,  
I thank whatever gods may be  
For my unconquerable soul._

_In the fell clutch of circumstance  
I have not winced nor cried aloud.  
Under the bludgeonings of chance  
My head is bloody, but unbowed._

_Beyond this place of wrath and tears  
Looms but the Horror of the shade,  
And yet the menace of the years  
Finds and shall find me unafraid._

_It matters not how strait the gate,  
How charged with punishments the scroll,  
I am the master of my fate,  
I am the captain of my soul_.

She finished and quickly hid her face behind her mug once more, taking a long drink of coffee. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she glanced at Regina who sat completely motionless- her large, watery eyes fixed on Emma with an expression of complete awe.

"Emma," she breathed, the blonde blushed and took another drink, "that was beautiful. Who wrote it?"

"It's called, 'Invictus' by William Ernest Henley. I used to hide out in public libraries sometimes and this book of poetry fell off the shelf and hit me in the head. When I picked up the book, it was open on a page with this poem in it. I fell in love with the lines, _I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul_, there was something about that line that really caught me and I've tried to live by it throughout my life, but turns out I've just been maneuvered around like a chess piece in Fate's fucked up universe," she slid her hand through her hair and got up to refill her coffee. As she poured more coffee into Regina's mug, the brunette placed a soft hand over hers and looked into the blonde's eyes with as much comfort and solidarity she could muster. Emma smiled appreciatively and slumped back into her chair.

"Is there any way to truly _be_ the master of your own fate?" she murmured.

"I believe that what we know as 'fate' is an ever-constant presence in everyone's life. It can manifest itself in symbols, words, events, people… all of which can be interpreted as coincidences, or others will interpret them as divine intervention. These are simply random happenstances from the universe that occur, though such happenstances are not given life unless recognized."

"What do you mean?" inquired the blonde cocking her head to the side.

"Let's say someone asks for a sign for why they are the way they are- then they notice a crow nearby. Over the next few days, weeks, or months- they continue to see crows and begin to interpret various lessons from them. Because the individual noticed the crow and applied meaning to its appearance, the crow then becomes a totem of fate. It becomes a physical manifestation of what we refer to as, 'fate,' the blonde nodded slowly, processing Regina's theory, "So in _my_ opinion, fate is going to manifest itself in an immeasurable amount of ways, and it is up to the individual to apply meaning to it where as another individual would think nothing of it. Where one person would see a crow and feel reassurance for their existence, another person would simply see a crow and nothing more. My point is that fate is up to individual interpretation, and it is up to that particular individual how they are going to act. Daniel could have been killed because of fate, and I could have interpreted differently than I had. It isn't what happens to you that's important, it's what you _do_ with what is given you," Emma nodded and sat up in her seat.

"I always viewed fate as a silly spiritual superstition people created out of fear. I had always believed that I was the master of my fate, until I came to Storybrooke and realized there were some strange cosmic forces at work," she said with a small laugh.

"You could have left Storybrooke the night you came, or at any other point after that. It would have been a different interpretation of your situation and things would have worked out differently. And as you sat in your apartment in Boston after leaving Storybrooke you would most likely believe that fate lead you _away_ from this town instead of towards it. No matter what happens in our lives, we will always credit events to fate even though our own personal choices could have moved us in a completely different direction."

"So, you believe you control your fate?"

"I believe that fate and myself live in a symbiotic relationship. I may not be able to always control what happens _to _me, but I have complete control over how I react. Just because all of these happenstances fly from nowhere and appear to be pushing me in one direction, doesn't mean I have to follow the path laid out for me. I did that once and became the Evil Queen…" she said biting her lip slightly.

"And I became the Dark Savior," Emma murmured. Regina felt her heart clench as she watched Emma's eyes darken full of remorse. She took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and moved her hand across the table to connect with the blonde's. Warmth shot through both women at the gesture, and they sat for a few moments letting the feeling pulse over them- both unaware they were feeling the same way.

"You are _not_ the Dark Savior, Emma," Regina said in a low voice, her eyes piercing so fiercely into Emma's that the blonde had too look away, "Emma look at me," watery green eyes moved hesitantly to meet brown, "_No matter what anyone tells you, you are not the Dark Savior," _She gave Emma's hand one last squeeze before retracting it and placing it on her lap. She slowly flexed her fingers, feeling a soft tingling cross in and out of each digit.

"If I'm not the Dark Savior, then how do you explain my magic change to Dark magic? How do you explain how I hurt Ruby, and all of those people in the diner, and… and…" she gulped, "… and Henry," saying her son's name caused her voice to crack as tears formed in her eyes.

"You played the _part_ of the Dark Savior, yes," said Regina, Emma's head snapped up, she was expecting Regina to deny and continue praising her, but she was pleasantly surprised to find the brunette being brutally honest, "you played the part of the Dark Savior just as I played the role of the Evil Queen, but I knew then that's not _who_ I was, just as you know now that the Dark Savior is not who _you_ are," she said sternly.

"Then how do you explain me hurting all of those people?" Emma said, tears flowing freely down her face. She quickly flicked them away and looked at Regina, her eyes desperate for answers.

"Fate presented you with a situation, and out of sheer exhaustion and personal anguish- you allowed yourself to be pushed by someone with their own selfish agenda in a dark direction, just as I had," her eyes remained fixed on Emma. She watched the blonde move her gaze to her coffee, her brows knitted together.

"I though," she whispered, "I thought she cared about me," said Emma keeping her eyes locked on her coffee, not daring to look up at Regina.

"Who?" asked Regina, though she already knew the answer- she wanted Emma to realize it herself and say it out loud. A few minutes passed and the blonde turned her gaze to the window.

"Zelena," she finally breathed, "We started talking while she was behind bars. She told me all of these stories about her childhood and wove all of these connections between her life and mine. She made it sound pretty convincing, and I was so starved for some kind of friendship that I didn't even notice she was _lying… _the worst part is that I _believed_ her. I believed in all of her bullshit stories," Emma finished by flinging her arm out and bringing it down on the table with a frustrated smack.

"She wasn't lying, Emma," said Regina calmly, "You couldn't tell she was lying because she _wasn't_ lying," the blonde looked over at Regina like she was crazy, but the brunette only calmly, "Zelena's upbringing is, in fact, similar to your own. She too was abandoned by her parents and thrust into a world where those around her didn't appreciate her and sought only to use her. She too felt the bitter sting of rejection, the claustrophobia of loneliness, she too had to find her own way of cultivating a sense of self in order to interact with a world she had only known to be cruel and uninviting," she paused in reflection and took a sip of coffee… moving her gaze to the window, "My sister became who she was because life had dealt her a bad hand, and she let her feelings of rejection dictate her life until it consumed her whole. Always craving what she never had, lusting to appropriate the lives of others she felt they didn't deserve or appreciate, seeking to punish the people around her for simply living the only lives they knew. After I took her magic and she was behind bars, I had hoped that…" she paused and took a deep breath, "I hoped that there was a way we could be, if not sisters, at least _friends_," she sighed and picked at stroked the table with the back of her fingers, "but this all escalated so quickly she never had a chance to decide anything for herself, not even her death," the brunette folded her arms and looked back out the window, fighting back tears that ached to be released- anger and remorse coursing through her veins.

Emma sat in silence watching Regina speak. How could she have been so careless as to not even consider how Regina is feeling about her sister being murdered? How could she have been so blind as to think Regina would murder her last living family member, days after sparing her life? How could she be so insensitive to think that she was the only one to care about Zelena? As she looked across the table at the former queen, Emma saw a woman who spent her whole life seeking family, only to have it ripped from her time and again. The woman sitting across from her had so much love to give, but nowhere to put it. Emma scolded herself for her past behavior, playing along with Henry's theory that she was the Evil Queen, slowly tearing away the one person Regina had in the world. Anger began to flow through her body. She thought of her own selfish behavior about Henry, she thought about how she automatically accused Regina of murdering her own sister. The anger bubbled up from her stomach and sizzled into her throat as she pictured the cowardly imp Rumpelstiltskin tearing out Zelena's heart, not only depriving Zelena of a second chance, but depriving Regina of her sister and potential familial love.

"Emma," came Regina's voice sounding loud and authoritative, "_Emma_," she repeated. The blonde snapped her head up and realized little wisps of blue smoke had started swirling around her head and fingers. Regina watched nervously, the blonde's eyes had clouded to a deep blue. The brunette reached her hand over and grasped Emma's balled fist, immediately relaxing the clenched hand- Regina gave a sigh of relief as she watched the blue clouds in Emma's eyes fade away with each blink.

"Sorry," she breathed looking warily at her shaking limbs, "I just… I'm sorry," she took a deep inhale, exhaling loudly. Regina retracted her hand, once more placing it in her lap and rubbing her fingers together- feeling out the soft warm sparks that result from contact with Emma. The blonde sat in silence calming herself down, Regina stood up and refilled their coffees.

I'm so, so sorry- Regina," came Emma's voice behind her. Regina turned around to find the blonde standing right behind her, their faces only inches apart.

"You're still new to magic, there's nothing to apologize for," said Regina trying to keep her voice calm. Her eyes darted between Emma's lips and her eyes, she flexed her hands nervously. Emma looked directly into her eyes with a jarring intensity.

"I'm sorry about your sister," she whispered, "I'm sorry that you never got the chance to be a family with her, I'm sorry that I accused you of murdering her, and I am just… I'm just _so_ sorry," exclaimed the blonde, her voice coated with tears.

Regina tried to think of a response, but before she could, Emma pulled her into her arms. She wrapped her arms around Regina's shoulders and pressed her hands firmly on the older woman's back. Tears started flowing freely from Regina's eyes as she felt the genuine remorse and unconditional love coming from the blonde's endearing gesture. Slowly she wrapped her arms around Emma's torso and embraced the love so freely given with her entire soul. They stood in each other's embrace for a few moments, both allowing the genuine beauty of the moment to wash over them, the sweet longing and unfulfilled belonging they had both craved for countless years slowly seeping away as they stood connected.

When they finally pulled away from each other, their hands remained clasped as they continued to survey each other's watery eyes, small smiles spreading across their faces. Regina was the first to break the contact. She sniffled and grabbed tissues out of her purse, dabbing her eyes while handing some to Emma who mirrored her actions.

"I better not have anymore coffee," said Emma unraveling a tissue with a shaky hand, "I'm so jazzed up on caffeine I feel like I could run the Boston Marathon," she laughed slightly, Regina laughed as well noticing her own trembling hands. Both women couldn't tell if it was the caffeine or the intense contact they had just experienced that rendered them so jittery, but they both internally decided to blame the caffeine for now. They stood in front of each other dabbing their eyes and laughing at their shaky limbs- until a small voice sounded in the room causing Emma's heart to sink.

"Mom?" Regina and Emma's heads snapped to the doorway. There stood Henry, the front of his clothes with holes and singe marks from Emma's lightning, he looked exhausted, but determined to have answers. Emma looked up and down at the damage she had inflicted on her son. Her mouth slowly opened and closed as fresh tears formed in her eyes. Regina gently brushed her hand against Emma's as a comforting gesture as she passed her to stand in front of Henry. She bent down to his level and cupped his chin with her fingers.

"You should be resting, sweetheart," she said softly. Regina's heart nearly stalled as her son's eyes met hers, full of immeasurable love and appreciation.

"I overheard Ruby talking to Grandpa and Robin about what was happening and I snuck a ride in Grandpa's truck back to town without him noticing. Then I had a feeling I'd find you and mom here, so I came and… I had to save you," he said as tears filled his eyes, Regina stroked his cheek affectionaly with her thumb, he turned his head towards Emma who stood paralyzed, "… and I had to save you, mom," Emma choked on her suppressed tears before completely falling apart.

Her knees started to buckle and Henry ran to her, throwing his arms around her midsection and holding on tightly.

"I love you so much, mom," he said as his face pressed into her body, "I don't want you to be so miserable," Emma was unable to form words, she choked and gasped for air as all the uncried tears from the last few years unleashed at once. She fell to her knees holding onto Henry fiercely, her tears coating his tattered clothes. Henry clung to her saying, "I love you," over and over- hoping that those words had magic of their own- they did.

Regina leaned against the doorway and felt her heart burst at the sight. She couldn't believe what a miraculous son she and Emma had. She was filled with a warmth she had thought lost as she watched beautiful exchange between mother and son. She turned to leave to give them some private time, but before she turned her head she saw Emma's hand release Henry's body and stretch out to her. The millions of butterflies in her stomach woke up at once and began to sing. She walked over and got down on her knees on the other side of Henry, mirroring the blonde's position and wrapped her arms around the two people in this realm she loved most. She smiled sweetly to herself as she felt the small hand of her son curl around her head, and the strong, confident arm of Emma circle around her waist.

…..

The citizens of Storybrooke craned their necks and peeled their eyes to the horizon. A brilliant golden light appeared as if the sun were rising. They scratched their heads in confusion, the sun had already risen, and the light was coming from the north. It pulsated and deepened with various beautiful shades of gold, baffling all the citizens of Storybrooke except for David, Robin, and Ruby who knew it came from the farmhouse. Large smiles radiated their faces, feeling optimistic for the first time in years.

In his dark cell, a single light came through the window and fell gracefully in the middle of the tiny prison. He lay just next to the light, hands and feet still in chains even though Belle still had his dagger and he remained under her influence. When the light came through the window and fell next to him, he glanced at it and flicked his eyes upwards to the window. Squinting at the golden light he rolled his eyes as he recognized the source, "_True Love_," he scoffed- the words fell from his mouth dripping with disdain, "Enjoy it for now, _dearies_," he said venomously eyeing the golden light.


	12. Chapter 12: Turning Point

**A/N: Greetings Friends!**

**I know it's been a bit longer than usual since the last update, but I went out of town for a wedding/vacation times. Time to move the plot along. Enjoy! Reviews are greatly appreciated!**

It is rare and extremely unlikely that any singular being in the universe travels the winding paths of life unscathed by suffering. For some, the concept of suffering seems foreign, while for others it remains an ever-present fixture throughout life. In order to cope with our own personal trials, we must perpetually be reminded that all things are transitory- as long as we recognize them as such. The wounds we gain from suffering need not scar us for life. Allowing such wounds to fester and deepen, remains the decision of the person who bares them. Suffering, like happiness, is the object of our own design.

…

They walked hand-in-hand. Regina's feet fell with confidence, creating a steady pattern for the others to follow. Holding tight to her left her hand walked Henry, who stumbled lightly over his feet as he craned his neck to look at his brunette mother on his right and his blonde mother on his left. Emma's feet hesitated with each step, a foot occasionally falling harder than anticipated to the ground causing her to sway slightly, only to be pulled firmly back into place by her son and Regina. Her eyes remained fixed on the ground, occasionally casting a quick glance in Regina's direction, but not daring to look at her in the face.

Her thoughts swirled around her head like a furious storm, Emma trying desperately to grasp onto a single thought so she could process it. She had never spoken with Regina like that, come to think of it- she had never spoken with _anyone_ like that. It was frightening, sad, yet exhilarating. As she sat across the table and listened to Regina weave her tale, the lines in the brunette's face changed from being etchings of suffering to firmly carved manifests of survival and strength.

Regina stared straight ahead, she thought of what was going to happen once they reached town. She could have easily used her magic to transport them, but she understood that all three parties needed this time to collect themselves. While in the farmhouse, she had opened her eyes briefly while wrapped in the warm embrace of Henry and Emma to see a strong golden light shining outwards from their bodies, illuminating the room. Although she had never seen or experienced that particular kind of phenomena, she felt in her bones the sweet embrace of love- shifting the forces of magic around Emma. At that moment, she realized she had accomplished what she needed to. Emma's magic had shifted back to light magic. The blonde had come to the realization that her emotional magic trigger was love, not anger. Though the moment should be recognized as an act of true love and endearment, Regina couldn't help the nervous seed growing within her. The kind of fear and anxiety that results from complete vulnerability, the kind of fear and anxiety that accompanies the realization of reciprocated love. She did not know what would happen once they reached town, but she knew that she would never leave Emma's side, she knew that Henry would never leave Emma's side, and she also recognized that Emma would never leave her or Henry. She squeezed her son's hand and smiled down at him, he returned the smile and squeezed his blonde mother's hand tighter- sending her the same smile, which she gladly reciprocated.

They walked in silence until they reached the outskirts of town. Emma stopped dead in her tracks, her breath growing heavy. Henry sensed her anxiety and squeezed her hand harder.

"Mom, it's going to be okay," he said calmly. Emma turned her frightened eyes to her son, and then towards Regina who offered such a soft, soothing look it immediately calmed Emma's growing panic. The blonde nodded quickly and took a deep breath.

"Regina," she said with a low voice, "maybe you can just magic us somewhere, I don't think I'm ready to walk through town," Regina saw the desperation in her eyes and the pleading quiver in her voice and gave a firm nod before enveloping the group in a cloud of smoke.

They reemerged in the empty Sheriff's station. With one last, short squeeze- Regina dropped Henry's hand and immediately reached for her phone- sending out a few short messages. Emma stood still casting the jail cell a dark, mournful look while Henry pulled up a chair and plopped down with a large sigh.

"What are we doing here?" asked Emma, her eyes still fixed on the cell.

"We're not out of the woods yet," sighed Regina as she sent off the last message from her phone, "I just contacted David, Ruby, Belle, and Robin- they should be here soon, we have a lot to figure out."

Emma nodded her head solemnly and sat on the desk close to Henry. Her throat clenched and her stomach sunk at the thought of seeing Ruby again. She didn't know how to possibly begin to apologize. She felt panic gurgle in her throat until it suddenly subsided as she felt her son's hand pat her thigh. Regina started searching around the office before finding what she was looking for: the security tape. She leaned against a desk, slowly tapping her chin with the tape as her brows furrowed in contemplation. A few minutes later, the doors to the station opened and David, Ruby, Belle, and Robin all rushed in expecting an emergency.

Emma turned around hesitantly, but before she could try to stumble out an apology- Ruby's arms wrapped around her body in a tight embrace.

"I'm so happy you're back, Emma," she whispered in the blonde's ear. Overcome by such open affection, Emma melted into her embrace and apologized with her tears. Ruby just clung tighter, whispering comforting words. The others sat patiently while the two women comforted before Regina cleared her throat calling everyone to attention.

"David, may I take Henry to your apartment so Snow may watch after him?" she asked holding up a hand to silence Henry's objection.

"Sure, no problem. She's worried senseless, it would do her a lot of good to have some company," he said with a warm smile. Regina nodded her head and held her hand out for Henry who shot his blonde mother a warm glance before taking his brunette's mother hand and disappearing. A couple minutes later, Regina reappeared alone, holding the security tape to her chest.

"Now then," she said with a large sigh, "Belle how is Rumpelstiltskin?" Belle bit her lip nervously and glanced towards Robin who let out a long breath while looking to Ruby who nervously glanced towards David, "What is it?" asked Regina, her eyes darkening. Belle began to shake, her lips quivered- causing her answer to be just above a whisper.

"He's gone," she said as tears formed in her eyes. Regina's eyes grew black, her body stiffened- Belle took a step back, "I don't know what happened, one minute he was there and the next…"

"The dagger?" asked Regina, her voice harsh yet firm. Belle began to cry and simply shook her head answering Regina's question. The former queen closed her eyes and began counting to ten, trying to collect herself.

"We checked on him and he was completely bound in his cell beneath the pawn shop," Robin began, "we were examining the dagger upstairs when the golden light appeared in the sky, we rushed out to look at it and when we came back in the dagger and Rumpelstiltskin where gone," he said looking apologetically towards Regina. Nobody knew exactly _how_ Regina had obtained the dagger and restrained Rumpel, but they all had a feeling it took an enormous amount of pain and effort- making their guilt over their collective carelessness worsen as Regina remained silent. David glanced at his daughter whose eyes were glued to Regina, like she was trying to telepathically communicate with her. After a few moments, the brunette inhaled deeply and exhaled.

"Well, this just means we will have to work faster and harder," she said without glancing at anyone in the room. She strode over to the VHS player and inserted the tape. The group sat on the desks and chairs surrounding the small monitor, curious as to what exactly they were about to see.

"Vengeance is never simple with Rumpel," said Regina as she fuddled around with a few buttons and knobs on the monitor, "he never simply _kills_ someone, there is always something he can obtain from them for some other darker purpose,"

"So, what are we looking for here, then?" said Emma who moved to stand next to Regina who cast her a nervous glance at how close the blonde had moved to her.

"I'm afraid we have to watch my sister's last moments," murmured Regina causing everyone in the group to exchange nervous glances. Regina and Emma's eyes, however, remained glued to each other- both understanding the extreme emotions they were both going to flung into during the next few minutes. After finding the day she was looking for, Regina pulled up a chair and sat down, Emma sitting next to her so that their shoulders touched.

The group sat with bated breath, watching the silent scene of Regina restoring the lights in the Sheriff's station and talking with Zelena before disappearing. The brunette took a moment to thank whatever forces at be that there was no audio. They watched Zelena huddle on her cot and sit in silence until Rumpel appeared in the room. The group sat deathly still as they watched the two exchange words they couldn't hear, until they all gasped as they saw Rumpel quickly rip Zelena's heart from her chest. Regina felt fingers intertwine with hers, she looked down to see the blonde's hand grasping hers. She squeezed tightly as the tape continued to run.

They watched in confusion as Rumpel held Zelena's heart up to her face like he was showing her something. He then began moving his hand over the heart and the group gasped at the light that appeared from the heart.

"What is he doing?" asked David breaking the silence.

"He's," Regina started but found the tears in her eyes impeding her ability to speak, "he's showing her the potential of her heart," she choked out. David didn't fully understand her answer, but figured she would explain later- so he sat back and watched the video unfold. Emma and Regina squeezed each other's hands harder as they watched the woman both had come to love drop to her knees, a look of longing splashed across her face. Emma's teeth clenched and Regina held onto her tighter as they watched Rumpel kneel in front of Zelena and squish her heart right in front of her. Before either woman could be completely lost in a swirl of fury and sadness, their attention was piqued by Rumpelstiltskin placing the dust of Zelena's heart in a small vile and pocketing it. He then took his dagger and slashed her chest open, making it look like her heart had been brutally torn from her, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

The group sat in silence staring at the monitor until they saw Regina and Emma appear. The brunette quickly stopped the tape and turned off the monitor. She turned her teary eyes to look at Emma who had an equally tear-stained face. Without hesitation, the blonde grabbed Regina by the shoulders and pulled her into a tight embrace. David cocked an eyebrow at the sight, while the others exchanged knowing glances. The two women pulled apart, but their hands remained joined.

"So what was that all about?" asked Ruby.

"Rumpel used a very powerful kind of magic to show Zelena the potential of her heart," she began with a shaky voice before finding strength at Emma's fingers circling hers, "He showed her and allowed her to feel the light that still existed in her heart, the light that would eventually manifest itself if she continued to… live,"

"He showed it to her and then took it away?" cried Belle with a hitched voice. Regina simply nodded, causing the woman to break into a fit of tears. Ruby wrapped an arm around Belle and tried to soothe her.

"And the vile?" inquired Robin.

"I don't know what he would use her heart for, but the fact that he kept it tells us that he needs it for something," said Regina wiping away a few stray tears. At that moment, David's phone rang.

"Snow? Slow down, are you okay? What's going on?" the group remained silent as Snow's panicked voice came from the phone, "Are you sure? When?" David's face remained contorted in concentration before all color drained from his face, and he shot a worried glance towards Regina and Emma, "Stay there, I'll be right there," he hung up the phone.

"What is it?" whispered Emma.

"He's got him… Rumpelstiltskin. He's got Henry," breathed David.


	13. Chapter 13: Epiphanies

**A/N: Greetings friends,**

I know there were a few typos the last chapter (aka vial… vile…) I'm well aware of them, but wasn't at the time of publishing. That's what I get for not proof-reading my work, eh? I hope my atrocious and unchecked spelling/grammatical errors don't ruin everyone's reading experience. 

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

"This is it, isn't it?" said Emma stopping dead in the middle of the forest. Regina tore her eyes from her surroundings, flipping her head around to look at the blonde who stood gazing at the earth beneath her feet.

"This is what, dear?" inquired Regina trying to keep her voice as calm as possible.

"_This_," said the blonde swinging her arms outwards and letting them fall to her sides with a slap, "searching for our son, having his life perpetually in danger of being taken away, us trampling around the realms saving him… this is how it's always going to be isn't it?"

Emma's voice hitched as she tilted her head upwards to meet Regina's gaze. Her watery, green eyes searched the brunette's features for a response, but Regina remained silent, her own gaze turned inwardly as her eyes fell to the ground.

"What if…" whispered Emma, "what if this time we don't find him?" Regina snapped pack to attention, her eyes darkening as they focused on Emma.

"No," she said sternly.

"Regina, what if…" the blonde began, but her lips were stilled by Regina's index finger pressed against them.

"Do _not_ finish that sentence, Emma," she said with her eyes burrowing into Emma's with such ferocity the blonde felt a wave of fear.

Regina removed her finger, clasping both hands on Emma's biceps, firmly squeezing them in reassurance.

"We'll find him and save him," she said firmly, trying to convince both Emma and herself.

Emma nodded her head as tears started to flow from her eyes.

"Everything will be all right," said Regina rubbing her hands up and down Emma's arms.

"How can you be so sure?" said Emma lifting her tear-stricken eyes to Regina, seeking strength.

"I… I just know," replied the brunette.

"But how? How do we know everything will be okay, how do we know that Henry will be okay? How do we know that anything will ever be okay again if…" Regina silenced the blonde by pressing her lips to Emma's.

The feeling was so ethereal, Emma wasn't sure it was actually happening. It was like her feet launched from the ground, her heart breaking into multiple pieces and scattering around- dancing with the stars. A pure, golden warmth slowly entered her body, coating her arms, hands, and fingertips before gliding down her thighs into her feet and toes.

Regina's stomach lurched with shock as she suddenly felt herself move forward and wrap her lips onto Emma's. The shock slowly dissipated as a soft tingling sensation encrusted her lips as they caressed the blonde's. Every possible hesitation flew away once she felt Emma's strong arms wrap around her waist as she pressed her lips harder, fully welcoming the affection.

A strong pulse of magic echoed from their lips and pulsated through their bodies with such force that when they disconnected, both women felt a sudden loss. They stood and looked into each other's eyes. Before anything could be said, Emma's phone rang. She snapped from the moment and answered.

"David," she said quickly. Regina's body jolted to attention, ready for action. Emma concentrated on what her father was saying while looking directly into Regina's eyes, "Right," she hung up and without skipping a beat said, "town square," as soon as the words left her mouth, Emma felt Regina grab her wrist and the familiar semi-claustrophobic sensation of magical teleportation.

….

Before the smoke cleared, the two women's blood curdled with rage as they heard the slithery voice of Rumpelstiltskin echo in the town square.

"Ah, the family's all here," the words dripping his mouth with sarcasm.

He stood in the middle of the square, one arm wrapped across Henry's torso, while the other held the Dark One's dagger to the young boy's throat. A smirk splashed across his face as he took note of the fire burning in the eyes of Emma and Regina.

The women stood twelve feet away from him, and without turning around they could feel the presence of Charming, Ruby, Robin, and Belle.

Regina's eyes focused on Henry. He looked back at her with his fierce green eyes, trying to send as much confidence and reassurance as he could. She returned her gaze to Rumpel and couldn't help but feel like something was different about him.

"Let him go," came Emma's voice, dangerously low- curved with caged wrath.

"Now why would I go and do something like that, dearie?" laughed Rumpel, "No, the boy's mother will have what's coming to her," he said glaring at Regina.

"Don't punish Henry for my actions," said Regina stretching her fingers out, preparing for the inevitable fight.

"That witch killed me son, and you just let her off with a slap of the wrist because she was your precious sister and you wanted to have your little heroic moment," snarled Rumpel.

His body swayed slightly, the two women exchanged quick glances as they saw a small vial hanging around the man's neck. He saw them look and sneered.

"Looking at this?" he gestured to the vial, "it's the ashes of the witch's heart, thought it would make a rather valuable collector's item," he released a strange high-pitched giggle, his eyes feverish.

"Something's wrong with him," said Belle as the group watched Rumpelstiltskin nearly sink to his knees with laughter, "I've never seen him like this,"

"Grief can make monsters of us all," whispered Emma looking over at Regina who returned her gaze. They held each other's eyes for a moment before Emma said, "let's end this," and as quick as light, the two women jumped into action.

Launching a fireball at Rumpel's dagger, Regina lunged forward while Emma sent a bolt of lightning in the same direction. Distracted in a fit of mad giggles, Rumpelstiltskin released his grip on Henry and stumbled backward. Without hesitation, Ruby swooped in, gathering Henry in her arms and darting back to Charming, Belle, and Robin while the two mothers continued their assault.

Recovering from the blow, the Dark One straightened his body, holding off Emma's lightning with his dagger while batting Regina's fireballs away with his other hand. Taking a step forward, he plunged his dagger to the ground causing a shockwave to uproot the ground, Emma jumped over the rippling earth in time, but Regina was knocked off her feet, her head hitting the pavement with a loud smack.

Emma looked back terrified to see Regina's unconscious form on the ground. Hearing a harsh laugh, she whipped her head around to see Rumpelstiltskin slightly swaying, his eyes like two black beads, his hair falling over his face disheveled, his lips curled upwards exposing a feverish grin.

Looking at his eyes, she noticed something had definitely cracked inside his mind. She launched herself forward only to be thrown backward by an invisible force as the Dark One stretched his hand outward. She tried to stand, but he knocked her over again, and again, and again.

"We can do this all day, dearie," came his sing-songy voice followed with another frantic giggle. She felt the weight of his magic crash into her body, pressing her into the ground. It felt as though a large weight were crushing her into the earth, she felt tension in her bones, as they began to give in to the forced pressure.

Just as her bones were about to snap, an arrow came rippling through the air, striking Rumpel's hand- releasing her from her bondage. She jumped to her feet and saw Robin launching arrow after arrow at the Dark One who managed to block them with his dagger, his now bloodied hand swaying limply at his side. She chanced a quick glance to Regina who was now surrounded by Belle, Charming, and Henry before pulling herself to her feet and sending an enclave of lightning bolts towards Rumpelstiltskin.

His insane giggles permeated the air as he blocked both arrows and lightning bolts with his dagger.

"You can't stop me, dearie," he snickered as he blocked another lightning bolt, "especially now that you've lost your light magic," he squealed and launched a shockwave that knocked Emma off her feet.

Shakily, she stood from the ground and faced the Dark One.

"Mmm yes, dearie, feed from your anger. It's what makes you strong nowadays isn't it, _Dark Savior_," another shrill laugh peeled the air. Emma clenched her teeth.

"The Dark Savior is a part of me, it always has been and it always will be, but I'm choosing not to let it rule my life. I may need to feel anger, but I don't need to allow it to dictate my life… or my magic," she said fiercely before plunging both arms out- releasing a large column of swirling light towards the Dark One who held out his dagger, releasing a column of dark smoke. The two streams met in the middle, pressing hard into each other.

"Light magic?" said the Dark One stumbling slightly, his face in complete shock, "how is that possible?"

"Love," came Regina's low voice next to Emma. Rumpel's eyes widened in fear as he watched Regina thrust both her arms out, a large column of white light beaming from her hands. The light of both women twisted together, creating one large, golden beam of light that pushed the black smoke farther back until it reached the dagger.

A loud _crack_ filled the air as the Dark One looked down in horror to find his dagger slowly cracking and cracking until with one final _snap_, it shattered completely- throwing everyone in the proximity backwards off their feet.

Silence permeated as Regina shook her head and looked over to find Emma laying next to her. She reached a hand out just as Emma came to and reached for hers. They clutched each other's hands and looked into each other's eyes, confirming that they were both uninjured.

A vicious cry split the silence, sending both women jumping to their feet. They saw Rumpelstiltskin on his knees, tears falling from his face as he shrieked in agony. He held his hands up, and the group watched in horror as the man slowly started disintegrating until all that was left was dust blowing in the wind.

A muffled cry stirred the group as they turned around to see Belle fall to the ground. Ruby quickly ran to her side and comforted her. Charming stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his daughter while Robin embraced Regina.

"Mom," came Henry's voice. Both parties released their embrace and turned around to find Henry smiling, "Moms," he corrected himself with a smirk. The two mothers laughed and opened their arms wide to embrace their son. They were unsure just how long they stood together, but all that mattered to them was that they were together.

…..

Emma shifted uncomfortably in her seat at Granny's. A town celebration had erupted after the news of Rumpelstiltskin's defeat made its way through the Storybrooke network. As the crowds of townspeople flowed through the doors and poured their congratulatory remarks on Emma and Regina, the blonde couldn't help but fidget uncomfortably.

Not long ago she had been chased from this very location by these very people… accusing her of being the "Dark Savior," but now they shook her hand, slapped her on the back, and through her smiles while exchanging pleasant words. She shook off her most recent admirer and took a large shot of whiskey before feeling a slender, comforting hand fold into her own.

She looked over to see Regina sitting next to her, grasping her hand and stroking it softly with her thumb. Looking at the brunette, Emma couldn't help the sudden wave of empathy that crashed over her head. Not long ago, Regina had been in the same situation.

"It's astounding how they can flip their opinions so quickly, isn't it?" whispered the brunette into Emma's hear. The blonde simply shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't get it," she whispered in return, "just a few hours ago they would have gladly burned me at the stake, but now…" her voice trailed off as she gestured to the merry townsfolk opening champagne bottles, the corks rocketing into the air and bouncing off the walls, landing on the floor to be gathered up by giddy children.

Regina hummed and nodded her head, "Never underestimate the power of crowd mentality," she said as she knocked back a shot of whiskey.

"How can they accept villains and heroes without question? Just a few hours ago, I was the Dark Savior and Rumpelstiltskin was still some scummy little man who stayed out of people's way. But if someone tells them so-and-so is bad, they just believe it," she said as her eyes scanned the jubilant crowd.

"It all depends on _who_ is telling them what is what," Regina nodded pouring herself another shot as she looked around to see Charming and Snow engulfed in excited conversation with a nameless fairytale character, "what's important is not letting what others say impact us," she threw the shot back and sighed heavily as she smacked the glass back onto the counter.

Regina turned from the crowd and faced the counter, fingering her shot glass until she felt a warm fingers intertwine with her own. She turned to her left and found Emma facing her, the blonde's face glowing- her eyes seemed fuller and brighter than they had been for weeks. Then her face broke out to a large smile, her lips parting allowing a beautiful laugh to ripple out from her mouth.

"What?" said Regina, a smile breaking over her face.

"You're amazing," she said softly, her eyes not tearing from Regina's. The brunette removed her hand from Emma's and batted her shoulder playfully, "No really, I mean it," said the blonde, taking both Regina's hands in her own. "I don't know how I never realized it before…" she said as she looked deeply into Regina's eyes.

"Wh-what?" stuttered Regina, her nerves suddenly on edge. Emma simply smiled back at her with such warmth and love, it made her melt where she sat.

"You were the only person who has ever seen me for who I am, Regina," said the blonde tightening her grasp on the brunette's hands, "I was so, so angry when I came back to Storybrooke. Anger has always been present in my life. Angry at my parents for abandoning me, angry with Neal for abandoning me, angry at myself for giving up Henry, angry that my destiny was chosen for me, angry at everyone in this town always wanting me to fix everything, angry that it wasn't me that stopped Zelena… but now I realize that love is what has driven me all along."

Regina raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"What I mean is, my parents and Neal abandoning me only fueled my desire for love, it only opened my capacity for love, when Henry came back into my world I realized I had a greater capacity to love than I ever thought possible. After meeting him, and discovering who he was at a person- I realized that I _did_ give him his best chance, and there is no way I can possibly be angry with myself for that. Everyone in this whole damn town can say what they want, but you know what? I really don't care because I know who I am, thanks to you," she grasped Regina's hands and brought her knuckles to her lips, kissing them gently, "Thank you, Regina," she rested the brunette's knuckles on her cheeks and breathed deeply.

Regina was at a complete loss for words. She simply sat utterly shell-shocked as Emma kissed her knuckles softly, before moving her hand to the brunette's cheek.

Emma wiped a couple stray tears from Regina's face before leaning in and connecting their lips. And in that instant, a feeling of sheer comfort and bliss washed over the two women as their arms encircled each other, bringing them closer.

Fate, destiny, anger, grief, suffering… none of that mattered because in that single moment- the realization of unconditional, and the ability to attain it presented itself to both women who had both seen their share of heartache. And they both, for that moment, understood that without pain there would not be this incredible love- but they also understood that the pain and suffering they had endured would not be what would define them for the rest of their lives… no. It would be the love that they share for each other, for their son, and for themselves that would shine more brightly than any star in all the realms.

**A/N: I would also like to point out that this is, in fact, the last chapter… but there will also be an epilogue. :) **


	14. Chapter 14: Epilogue

**A/N: Greetings, friends!**

**This is the FINAL entry for The Ties That Bind. Thank you to all who read, and especially to those who were constantly reviewing. It means a lot to me. I hope you've enjoyed the story, and remember… all comments, questions, criticisms, and concerns are welcome. **

**Thank you again, and if you're interested you can find my on tumblr at: MLEther1**

Emma Swan leaned back in her chair as she stared out the window of her office in the Sheriff's station. Rubbing her fingers together and sighing, she observed Storybrooke's various citizens making their way from place to place. Almost a year had passed since she was chased out of the diner by angry citizens, but she still couldn't help but feel a peculiar mix of comfort and danger as she watched the citizens shell out friendly greetings and casual partings to each other.

After the apprehension of Rumpelstiltskin and the destruction of his dagger, the citizens had moved from viewing her with utter horror and disdain to a more tolerable form of coexistence consisting of brief, nervous smiles and short conversations. Her parents had been on an unending campaign to shove her in the public light and pump her reputation up by casually inserting her "positive" qualities into each and every conversation at Granny's.

As embarrassing and irritating as it was, their method worked to soothe the public's mind and move them to actually ask her if she would return as Sheriff. She gratefully accepted the position when the mayor formally asked her to resume her duties. Though she wouldn't openly admit it, working as Sheriff had become something she loved.

Glancing over at the silent phone, she heaved a sigh and sunk deeper into her chair. _Okay, maybe I don't love it so much right now_, she thought.

The phone had been silent for days. Nothing was happening. No cats stuck in trees, Archie was finally keeping a hold on Pongo, no car crashes, no citations, no parking tickets, no complaints about neighbors, no drunk and disorderly, no crazy supernatural character from a dark mythical book coming to destroy the world and threaten their lives.

She tapped her cell phone on her knee as she pushed herself back and forth on her chair. _Bored, bored, bored, bored…_ _Regina._ Emma sat up in her chair and typed out a message to Regina.

_Hey, Regina._

Tossing her phone on her desk she fidgeted a bit more waiting for a reply.

**Emma? What's wrong? Are you okay?**

_Yeah, just bored. Wanted to see what you're up to. _

… **we agreed not to text each other at work unless it's an emergency after what happened last time. Need I remind you?**

Emma flinched as she remembered their two-hour sexting that ended when she felt her phone on a desk while she went to the bathroom and her father accidently grabbing her phone while headed out on patrol.

_I'm bored. What are you wearing?_

She held her phone tightly, waiting for Regina to respond. She hoped she would finally cave and break their agreement- but when her phone buzzed with a message, her face dropped as she opened it.

**Hey, sweetie. Regina just text me saying you were bored. Want to go to lunch? **

_Sure, meet you at Granny's in ten_.

She sighed and rolled her eyes as she typed the next message out to Regina:

_Oh, you text my mom? Real mature_.

**Go to lunch with your mother. See you tonight, love.**__

Emma pocketed her phone with a smile, shaking her head as she stood up to find her keys. She locked up the office and decided to walk to Granny's to burn up some time.

When she arrived, she was surprised to find both her parents and her baby brother sitting at a booth. Snow saw her and waved delightedly for her to join them. She slid into the booth next to her father, giving him a brief punch on the shoulder in greeting. He smiled and pulled her in to kiss her head. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment with a such a fatherly display of affection, but even though they were essentially the same age- she had started to find their roles as parents to be more and more comfortable.

"Hello entire Charming family," said Ruby as she swooped over with her notepad, "What's the occasion?" Snow fidgeted nervously and started picking invisible lint off baby Neal's blanket. Emma raised an eyebrow, _this is weird_. She looked over at her dad who simply smiled.

"Oh, just thought we'd get together for lunch. It's been awhile. I'll take the turkey club,"

"BLT," said Snow with a smile and a short, nervous giggle.

"And for you, Emma?" asked Ruby. Emma sat straight up, piercing her mother with her eyes… something wasn't wrong, but the woman seemed really nervous about something.

"Chicken salad, extra dressing," she said in a monotone voice, staring across the table at her mother who refused to meet her eyes for more than a half second.

"Great, I'll be right back," Ruby squeezed Snow's shoulder and gave her a warm smile before sauntering away.

"So, what's that about?" said Emma directly to Snow who jumped.

"What do you mean?" she said paying way too much attention to baby Neal's blanket.

"Oh come on," said Emma leaning back. She looked over at her father who wore suspicious grin, but he simply shrugged his shoulders, "What are you guys up to?"

Charming looked over at Snow who looked at him with quiet desperation.

"Can we?" she muttered towards Charming who smiled warmly and shifted in the booth so he faced Emma.

Her eyes moved rapidly between her parents, her muscles tensing up- she was suddenly reminded of all the times her various foster parents told her that she was being moved to another family.

"Emma," began Snow, tears forming in her eyes as she reached her free hand across the table and grabbed her daughter's hand, "I love you so much. I didn't know how much love I could have for a person until I held you in my arms when you were a baby. It's immeasurable, as endless as the stars. My love for you runs deeper than the bottomless ocean," Emma held her mother's hand and felt her own nervous work up- waiting to hear the inevitable _but_ that comes after someone compliments you, "I want to apologize for sending you away as a baby,"

"Mom…"

"No, let me say this," she said as she grabbed Emma's hand tighter, "I am so, so sorry for how you had to grow up without parents that love you unconditionally, without a family," Emma felt her own tears come to the surface, but held tight, "And when I first met you when you came to Storybrooke, I didn't know that I was your mother, but I loved and trusted you from the beginning. And after the curse broke, I'm so sorry that we never got to really, _really_ talk,"

"It's okay, things kept happening with the town and…" Emma began but she was cut off again by Snow.

"But I want you to know, that I have never been more proud of anyone in my life than I am of you," tears started rolling down her face but she paid them no heed as she continued to look deeply into her daughter's watery eyes and told the complete truth, "You have felt the most incredible pain throughout your life. You've experienced the deepest levels of misery, you've been engulfed by the flames of rage- but you pulled out of it. You pushed through the darkness and climbed into the light with such a captivating love. Even after everything, you put others before yourself and love with every fiber of your being- and I am so proud of you and just in awe at the intelligent, wonderful person I have the privilege of calling my daughter," she finished with a nod and pulled Emma's hand to her mouth to give each of her knuckles a tear-stained kiss. Emma sat completely baffled, tears streaking down her face, but she didn't care. In her mind, there was nobody else in the room but her family.

"Mom, I…"

"Not so fast," said Charming pulling his arm around her, "it's my turn,"

Emma looked to her left in horror, she didn't think she'd be able to take any more.

"My entire life I wanted love. A love so strong I would feel both cripplingly weak and inhumanly powerful at the same time. I thought I had found that with your mother, but when you were born and I took you in my arms, I felt like I could climb the tallest mountains and blaze across every ocean- but I was petrified at the same time," he held a hand up to his mouth and breathed deeply as tears brimmed his eyes, "I was afraid not only because I was sending you off to an unknown realm all alone, but because I knew once you were gone… it… it would destroy me,"

Emma looked at the man next to her. Though his fatherly tendencies occurred frequently in the last year, she never really saw or _felt_ his presence as her father until this moment as he squeezed his arm around her and poured out his soul.

"I knew there was no way I would be able to live knowing that what I loved most in all the realms was out in the world without me. When the curse broke, that surge of love and fear flooded back into my heart and I felt complete, but I was also taken with an overwhelming feeling of guilt. I am so sorry I wasn't there to be with you as you grew up. I am sorry I wasn't there to see your first laugh, your first steps… I'm sorry I wasn't there to comfort you when fell off your bike for the first time," he gave a short laugh as tears flowed freely down his face. His deep blue eyes focused in on hers as he took another deep breath and continued, "I want you to know, that you, Snow, Henry, and Neal are the most important people in my life. I didn't know what to do when I saw you in the field by the farmhouse. I wanted to hold you and take all of your pain from you. But then, when you came back from the farmhouse I saw the strong, beautiful, absolutely outstanding woman you've become. So full of love and passion, I am so incredibly proud of you. You, Emma, are my hero… and I love you so much," he squeezed her tighter and placed a lingering kiss on the top of her head.

Emma released her hand from Snow's grasp and pulled it across her father, drawing him in close. She felt warm, safe, and loved. Charming squeezed as tightly as he could trying to communicate everything he had said and was unable to say.

"I love you too," whispered Emma into his chest. She drew back and wiped tears from her face, looking over at Snow's tear-stained face, "I love _both_ of you," Baby Neal gave a little cry making the three adults laugh, "I love you too, little man," she said as she reached across the table and stroked his soft head gently.

She took Snows hand with her right and her father's with her left, "Thank you. Truly, this means… _so_ much to me. More than I thought," she laughed as she wiped a few tears from her cheeks with her sleeve.

"We have something we'd like to ask you," Snow said to Emma as she glanced towards Charming.

"Technically in this land, everything that happened before the curse isn't exactly legally recognized," Emma looked at them with her brows furrowed.

"What do you mean? You guys have to get remarried or something?" The two laughed.

"No," said Charming with a little laugh, "though we plan to do that at some point in the future,"

"So, what is it?" she said looking back and forth between her parents. Snow smiled and pulled out a thick stack of papers and slid it across the table.

"Regina drew these up for us," she said with a smile.

Emma looked down at the stack in confusion as she read aloud, "State of Maine certification, blah, blah, David Nolan and Mary Margaret Blanchard here do certify according to the laws of naturalization issued by the United States of America to be primary care holders and guardians to…" her breath snapped from her throat as she saw her name.

"Emma Swan," said Snow with a huge smile while fresh tears threatening to be released, "We love you more than we can truly say, you are truly the most incredible person,"

"You are talented, smart, strong, and courageous… among lists and lists of other things," said Charming.

"And we would be so, completely honored- if you would allow us to adopt you," breathed Snow.

Emma sat in shock. She was _definitely_ not expecting this. She looked down at the certificate on top of the stack of papers in front of her and saw an empty, thin black line for her signature. Her hands trembled slightly, Snow and Charming squeezing them gently in response.

Emma couldn't count or even think of how many times she had dreamt of this moment growing up. Finding people who loved her, and she loved them- being a part of something so beautiful and pure. She had felt like a family with Regina and Henry, as well as with Charming and Snow- but this was different. After her parents poured their souls out to her, she felt the strong unconditional bind of parental love- and it hit her like coming upon a field of untouched flowers. But this… this piece of paper in front of her given to her by two people who truly loved her… was something beyond anything she had ever felt.

She looked up at Snow who was fidgeting nervously, her eyes wide with worry. Looking over at Charming she saw him picking his thumb nervously with his teeth as he glanced at her. She looked at Snow, her mother- beautiful, fierce, compassionate, stubborn, and unrelenting. She looked at Charming, her father- handsome, brave, loving, thick-headed, quick-tempered, and completely wonderful. She smiled at them both. Smiling at the qualities that made them outstanding humans- she looked at them and loved every tiny flaw. She loved the nagging, the worrying… she loved every part of them and wanted to prove to them how much she really loved them.

The fact of her being their daughter was undeniable ever since the curse broke, as strange as it had felt, and as rocky the path had been to get to where they are now, she never felt more like their daughter than she did in this moment. It touched her that they would think to make their family legally bound. It moved her beyond words, so she looked over at her father who had a pen in his front pocket and quickly snatched it up.

Taking the cap off, she hovered over the empty line and stole one last glance at the people who would cease to be David and Margaret, Charming and Snow, and once she signs… they become Dad and Mom, officially. She gave a huge toothy smile at her parents and hurriedly dashed the pen across the empty line, capping the act off with a loud _plunk_ as she slammed the pen on the counter.

"I guess that's a yes," laughed Charming.

"Yeah," she said through new tears and fresh laughter.

"We're officially a family," breathed Snow holding Neal close and smiling brilliantly.

"Yeah," breathed Emma, "a family," she smiled.

Thunderous applause broke out across the diner. The Charmings' faces flushed red with embarrassment, having forgotten where they were. The few occupants in the diner cheered tremendously. Emma ducked her head, but recognized a holler above the noise of the cheers. She swirled around to see Henry and Regina at a table in the corner of the diner where Emma wouldn't have seen them when she came in.

Henry was dancing on his chair and whooping, his smile blazing across the air to Emma. Regina shook her head disapprovingly at Henry's behavior but cracked a wry smirk towards Emma.

"Go on, Sweetie," said Snow patting Emma's hand and gesturing towards Henry and Regina. Emma squeezed her hand, gave Charming a short punch on the arm and ran to the other side of the diner where Henry jumped into her arms.

"Mom, this is _so_ cool, you're adopted!" he screamed over the applause as she pulled him in for another hug.

"Yeah kid," she smiled rubbing her knuckles into the top of his head playfully, "We should start a club," she laughed. She looked up and saw Regina smiling at her. The brunette pulled Emma's sleeves and wrapped her arms around her.

"Congratulations," she whispered in her ear. Emma smiled as a tear slipped from her eyes. She buried herself in the brunette's hair and held her tighter before suddenly pushing her back.

"Hey, wait a minute… did you know this whole time?" said the blonde. Regina smirked and shrugged her shoulders. She walked over to the table where Charming and Snow sat, and they pushed the certificate towards her, handing her a pen. She quickly signed her name and placed the pen on the table.

"The signing of the adoption papers needed a witness, and as mayor I thought I would suffice," she said smiling at Emma.

Snow rose from the booth and wrapped an arm around Regina pulling her close.

"Thank you, Regina," she breathed into the woman's ear. She pulled back and squeezed her hand. The two women looked into each other's eyes and watched the past flow between them and slowly dissipate in a warm swirl of complete forgiveness and reconciliation.

Charming stood and hugged Regina, stuttering a small thank you as he tried to control himself now that he remembered he was in public. She nodded firmly as she saw the night she enacted the curse play before his blue eyes and slowly wash away with gratitude. Signing the certificate of adoption as a witness acted as a gesture of vindication and complete absolution.

Regina felt a pair of arms slip around her waist from behind. She smiled as Emma's chin rested on her shoulder, her golden locks flowing down her shoulder as she placed sweet kisses on the former-Evil Queen's shoulder. Henry came to her side and wrapped his arms around both of his mothers.

"Okay," came a shaky voice from behind them, "this is too much," the group turned around to see a tear-streaked Ruby holding their food in her arms." The group laughed as Ruby sniffled and choked down a couple more tears with a huge smile on her face. She rushed over and placed the food on the table with trembling limbs. She hugged Snow, Charming, Emma, and Regina.

"Just… eat your damn food," she said as she ruffled Henry's hair and pulled a couple tissues from her pocket to dab her eyes.

"To the Charmings and the Mills!" came Granny's voice from behind the counter. She reached beneath the counter and pulled out a large tray of overflowing champagne flutes, "drink's on the house!" she cried as the Charmings, the Mills, and the other patrons of the diner rushed over to claim a glass of champagne.

"Congratulations, Emma!"

"Cheers to you all!"

"Long live the queens!"

"Congratulations to you all!"

They all raised the glasses and drank deeply as applause broke out once again before everyone settled back down to happily enjoy their food. Granny moved a couple more chairs to the booth where the Charmings sat for Regina and Henry and brought their food to them. As they talked and ate, Emma placed her hand on Regina's knee and squeezed affectionately. Emma knew that without the brunette's unrelenting help, she would have never known such unfathomable happiness and love. Regina returned her affection and glanced around the table before her eyes rested on Snow.

They looked at each other and with a warm smile and a short nod, let everything wash away- allowing the anticipation of a better, brighter future to cleanse them.

….

As Emma left the diner, she had no clue how she was supposed to go back to work after such an eventful lunch break. She bid farewell to her parents, kissed Regina goodbye, and walked a disappointed Henry back to school. She watched him disappear through the doors of the school and sighed as she began walking to the station. She was grateful for deciding not to drive to the diner; she definitely needed this time to collect herself.

As she walked and walked, she noticed that instead of concrete and asphalt, she was walking on dirt, grass, and twigs. She looked up and noticed she had unconsciously moved her direction to the forest. Looking around, she understood what her subconscious had done. She continued deeper into the woods until she came upon the Mills family crypt. Opening the heavy door, she gulped at the musty, damp air. Three coffins lay next to each other in the center of the room. She walked by them, her hand gently grazing the marble surfaces as she read the names, _Henry Mills, Cora Mills, Zelena Mills_.

_Zelena Mills_.

She stopped and placed her hand on the name.

After everything with Rumpelstiltskin had died down, Emma took Regina to the spot in the forest she had buried Zelena's body. Together, they decided to place her in the Mills crypt. Zelena had lived her life alone, and the two women decided that her body should not be alone in death. At the small funeral, which only included Regina, Emma, The Charmings, Henry, Ruby, Robin, and Belle- Emma and Regina placed the vial containing Zelena's crushed heart back into her body. The rest of the affair had been solemn and quiet- most in attendance unsure as to what should be said.

Though everyone denied it, Belle had assumed responsibility for Zelena's untimely death, thus, feeling compelled to offer something at the funeral. Belle had taken the time to find a few verses of poetry about the passing of loved ones to read, along with a few other passages from books about new beginnings.

Ruby was able to gather up a few rather pleasant memories of Zelena from before she had been revealed as the Wicked Witch.

"You always left a generous tip," she had said as she stood by the coffin, "Even though you only ever just ordered tea, you still left really good tips. Thank you for helping me find a good way to get stains out of my aprons, and thanks for telling me that I am a strong person," she finished with a slight quiver in her voice. Robin slung an arm around her, stroking her shoulder affectionately.

Regina looked at Ruby with more appreciation than she was able to express. Even though it strained Ruby's mind to find those memories and say them as a kind remembrance- she was happy she had said them, it was another reminder that even when a person seems to be in their darkest state of mind, acts of kindness are still possible- no matter how small the act may be, and that counts for something.

Everyone else couldn't seem to find anything to say. Charming and Snow seemed to be silently trying to find a way to thank her for being their midwife for a short time, but the fact that she did so with manipulative intentions stopped them from finding the positivity in bringing it up.

Henry simply held his hand on the coffin for a few minutes, contemplating what life would have been like with Aunt Zelena- he didn't find his thoughts about what could have been to be appropriate, so he simply remained silent. The gesture, however, touched and helped both Emma and Regina more than he knew. Emma and Regina were too wrapped up in grief and complicated emotions about Zelena to say anything- they knew it would have to come with time.

Regina, for one, was not fond on dwelling with, "what-if's," so remained silent and mourned her sister's life, and the life that was taken from her. Emma was still working through her opinions on Zelena. Though she had manipulated Emma in the direction of dark magic, the blonde couldn't help but feel like she and Zelena had truly connected over their past. Just as Zelena had awoken something dark within Emma, the blonde felt like at the same she had awoken something light within Zelena. But neither of them would ever know.

As Emma stood over the coffin, she allowed her fingers to gently run across the smooth letters spelling out Zelena's name. Her fingers worked down the coffin to the inscription on the bottom, "Loved," it said.

"Zelena," Emma's hoarse voice cut through the silence of the crypt, "I don't know if you can hear me… I normally don't ever do anything like this, you know? I mean, it's not like you're actually here or anything," she paused as her ears pricked up, though she knew it was impossible- as she said the words she felt like Zelena would stroll around a corner at any second, "Anyway, I… uh… I kind of miss our talks. The ones where I would show up to the station and just tell you about my day and we'd kind of laugh about it and all that," she laughed nervously and pushed herself up so she sat on the coffin, her hand continued to finger Zelena's etched name.

"Today was a really, _really_ good day," she ran her hand through her hair and sighed, "I got adopted," she laughed, "Charming and Snow legally became my parents. I really didn't think it would mean as much as it did. I didn't even _think_ of being adopted by them as a possibility since we're already related by blood," she sighed as she gently moved her fingers around the carved, "Z."

"Do you remember when we were talking about how as kids we dreamed of getting adopted? I don't know, maybe if you put on a big smile and ride into town on a sparkly unicorn, they'll adopt you too," she laughed before her face fell with sadness, "I'm really sorry how things turned out for you. First being abandoned, found, then rejected, abused, manipulated, rejected again… if only you had just _one_ person who could help you- like Regina helped me. I know without a doubt that she would have helped you recognize your self-worth. She really loves you, ya know? And…" she sighed deeply, "I love you too. I found in you a kindred spirit. Another person who had essentially gone through the exact same thing I did. We had the same hopes, dreams, aspirations- but we also shared the same nihilistic outlook, the same anger, bitterness, resentment… we both let others dictate who we became. You know, with all the manipulation and dark magic aside- I bet we would have been really good friends," she ran her finger along the carved coffin, becoming lost in thought.

"Regina said something amazing the other night," she paused as she smiled at the memory, "we were talking about different paths of life. The paths of service, love, duty, charity, the warrior, the politician, mother, father… all of those. And she told me, 'If life were a forest and we had to walk through it, I would venture headfirst into the trees avoiding all the other ways and paths before me.' I asked her why and you know what she said?" Emma's lips curved into a smile, "'Emma, if you come upon a forest and there is a way or path, it is someone else's path,'" the blonde laughed quietly to herself.

She ran her fingers across the coffin and smiled as she thought of Regina.

"I didn't think much of her words when she first said them, but I find myself thinking about it more and more. Regina spent her whole life walking through the forest on carved pathways, following all the signs, staying on the course directed her- and there was no adventure to be had. The greatest adventures don't come from sticking to a well-manicured path. When you stay on another's path, you don't feel the sudden blood-curdling feeling of being lost- but you also don't feel the overwhelming sense of awe and wonder when you stumble upon a clearing with soft grass, beautiful flowers, where the pale light slips through the trees. When you stick to someone else's path, you experience everything second-hand; something else is dictating where you go and what you see. After traveling another's path for years and years, I'm going to join Regina. Together, we'll stumble blindly through the forest creating our own way, our own path- with all of its ups, downs, twists, and turns. I have to be happy with myself, I know that now. And since I've come to accept and love myself, I've been able to accept and love everyone around me- and I see the love I hold for them echoed back in their eyes. And Zelena?" she said hopping off the coffin, "It is the most beautiful thing in all the realms."

She smiled and patted the coffin before closing the large door and bounding down the steps and through the forest with a bounce in her step.

When she finally arrived at the station, she plopped down in her chair to resume people-watching for the next couple hours until her shift was over. Just as she leaned her head back and could feel her muscles relaxing, her phone rang. She jumped and answered.

"Sheriff Swan," she said half-annoyed yet also partly excited that there might be something to do.

"Sheriff it's me, Ms. Vasquez," said a raspy, ancient voice on the other side of the phone.

"Hey Ms. Vasquez, is Gatito stuck in a tree again?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Which one?"

"By the lake in the park,"

"Okay, I'll be right there. Everything's going to be just fine," she said as she hung up. As she grabbed her keys and made her way to the car she shook her head with a small smile.

Ms. Vasquez was what she called, "a regular." Her cat, Gatito, was an escape artist with adrenaline issues. Nearly every day Ms. Vasquez would call about Gatito being stuck in a tree, and every day Emma would ask where, to which Ms. Vasquez would always reply, 'in a tree by the street,' or 'in a tree by another tree.' Her locations were always extremely vague, but at least her cat had the common sense to exercise his voice, as well as have a very peculiar meow that sounded more like a hoarse elephant singing Puccini. All Emma had to do was drive around and listen for the feline's petrified variation of _Nessun Dorma_ and she'd find him.

She drove over to the lake at the Storybrooke Park and not long after she got out of her car, she heard the harsh melodies of Gatito echoing across the pond, screeching up and down in whizzing arpeggios. She jogged over, fixing her gloves to her hands in case Gatito decided to explore his artistic side and create a panicked masterpiece all of her hands and arms.

She found the tree and circled it. After finding a safe way up and down, she shoved her right boot into a knot in the trunk and swung her arms upward. Halfway up the tree her phone rang.

Richard Wagner's, _Ride of the Valkyries_, blasted from her back pocket causing Gatito to shriek and climb deeper up in the tree. She sighed at the cat, but smiled recognizing the ringtone as Regina.

"Hey, Regina, what's up?" she said balancing herself so she could hold her phone.

"Hello, dear, I was wondering if you could…" she paused for a minute, "… what are you doing?" Emma knitted her brows in confusion but then realized she was panting like a lunatic and Gatito was above her loudly working his way through the third act of _La Boheme_. Emma laughed hard thinking about what it must have sounded like over the phone.

"I'm simply performing my civic duties, ma'am," she said with a laugh.

"Right," said Regina shortly, "anyway, I was wondering if you could pick up a couple sticks of unsalted butter from the store on your way home tonight?" Emma smiled, she'd moved in with Regina and Henry a couple months ago, and hearing Regina refer to her house as Emma's home still made the butterflies in the blonde's stomach wake up and sing.

"Unsalted?" she asked with a grunt as she moved her left foot up to catch a low branch, "No problem,"

"Be safe, love," came the brunette's soft voice, "I'll see you when you get home. I love you," Emma's smile grew brighter.

"I love you," she responded before clicking off her phone, cramming it back in her pocket, and began attempting to channel her simian ancestors as she began pushing and pulling herself up a difficult part of the tree.

As she reached for a branch thinking about unsalted butter, she saw Gatito's panicked face and heard his bizarre meowing. As she looked up at the cat, she realized she was a Sheriff whose only duty that day was getting a cat out of a tree, and she was just called to bring unsalted butter to the home she shared with her partner and their son. She laughed out loud with such gusto, that even Gatito shut his mouth for a moment as the blonde continued her laughing fit sprawled out on the middle of a tree trunk.

"This is my happy ending," she shook her head with another large laugh, "unsalted butter and an opera-singing cat named Gatito," she smiled and chuckled as she scaled the tree. The realization of the fulfillment of every hope and dream Emma Swan ever had passed through her as she climbed.

She couldn't wait to get home.

**A/N: Special thanks to noly69, dianamhayle, fiend89, Baccan from FFnet and special thanks to Tae, ZeonRat, RoyaleIdiot, and thepaperrose from Ao3. **


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